Yahoo Finance How Does Children's Place's (NASDAQ:PLCE) P/E Compare To Its Industry, After The Share Price Drop?
Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Children's Place (NASDAQ:PLCE) share price has dived 34% in the last thirty days. That drop has capped off a tough year for shareholders, with the share price down 52% in that time.
All else being equal, a share price drop should make a stock more attractive to potential investors. In the long term, share prices tend to follow earnings per share, but in the short term prices bounce around in response to short term factors (which are not always obvious). The implication here is that long term investors have an opportunity when expectations of a company are too low. Perhaps the simplest way to get a read on investors' expectations of a business is to look at its Price to Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio). Investors have optimistic expectations of companies with higher P/E ratios, compared to companies with lower P/E ratios.
See our latest analysis for Children's Place
How Does Children's Place's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?
Children's Place's P/E is 11.34. You can see in the image below that the average P/E (11.7) for companies in the specialty retail industry is roughly the same as Children's Place's P/E.
Children's Place's P/E tells us that market participants think its prospects are roughly in line with its industry. So if Children's Place actually outperforms its peers going forward, that should be a positive for the share price. Further research into factors such as insider buying and selling, could help you form your own view on whether that is likely.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
Companies that shrink earnings per share quickly will rapidly decrease the 'E' in the equation. That means even if the current P/E is low, it will increase over time if the share price stays flat. A higher P/E should indicate the stock is expensive relative to others -- and that may encourage shareholders to sell.
Children's Place saw earnings per share decrease by 18% last year. But it has grown its earnings per share by 8.8% per year over the last five years. And EPS is down 4.9% a year, over the last 3 years. This could justify a low P/E.
Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet
Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. Hypothetically, a company could reduce its future P/E ratio by spending its cash (or taking on debt) to achieve higher earnings.
Such spending might be good or bad, overall, but the key point here is that you need to look at debt to understand the P/E ratio in context.
Children's Place's Balance Sheet
Children's Place's net debt is 18% of its market cap. This could bring some additional risk, and reduce the number of investment options for management; worth remembering if you compare its P/E to businesses without debt.
The Verdict On Children's Place's P/E Ratio
Children's Place trades on a P/E ratio of 11.3, which is below the US market average of 15.1. Since it only carries a modest debt load, it's likely the low expectations implied by the P/E ratio arise from the lack of recent earnings growth. What can be absolutely certain is that the market has become significantly less optimistic about Children's Place over the last month, with the P/E ratio falling from 17.2 back then to 11.3 today. For those who prefer to invest with the flow of momentum, that might be a bad sign, but for a contrarian, it may signal opportunity.
Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. If the reality for a company is not as bad as the P/E ratio indicates, then the share price should increase as the market realizes this. So this free report on the analyst consensus forecasts could help you make a master move on this stock.
You might be able to find a better buy than Children's Place. If you want a selection of possible winners, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20 (but have proven they can grow earnings).
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
