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A Rising Share Price Has Us Looking Closely At Sysco Corporation's (NYSE:SYY) P/E Ratio

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 34% in the last month alone, although it is still down 30% over the last quarter. But shareholders may not all be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down 28% in the last year.

All else being equal, a sharp share price increase should make a stock less 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). So some would prefer to hold off buying when there is a lot of optimism towards a stock. 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). A high P/E ratio means that investors have a high expectation about future growth, while a low P/E ratio means they have low expectations about future growth.

View our latest analysis for Sysco

Does Sysco Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

Sysco's P/E of 14.93 indicates relatively low sentiment towards the stock. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (19.9) for companies in the consumer retailing industry is higher than Sysco's P/E.

NYSE:SYY Price Estimation Relative to Market May 4th 2020
NYSE:SYY Price Estimation Relative to Market May 4th 2020

This suggests that market participants think Sysco will underperform other companies in its industry. While current expectations are low, the stock could be undervalued if the situation is better than the market assumes. It is arguably worth checking if insiders are buying shares, because that might imply they believe the stock is undervalued.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. That means even if the current P/E is high, it will reduce over time if the share price stays flat. So while a stock may look expensive based on past earnings, it could be cheap based on future earnings.

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It's great to see that Sysco grew EPS by 24% in the last year. And its annual EPS growth rate over 5 years is 19%. So one might expect an above average P/E ratio.

A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank

The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.

While growth expenditure doesn't always pay off, the point is that it is a good option to have; but one that the P/E ratio ignores.

How Does Sysco's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?

Sysco's net debt equates to 31% of its market capitalization. While it's worth keeping this in mind, it isn't a worry.

The Bottom Line On Sysco's P/E Ratio

Sysco trades on a P/E ratio of 14.9, which is fairly close to the US market average of 14.4. Given it has reasonable debt levels, and grew earnings strongly last year, the P/E indicates the market has doubts this growth can be sustained. What is very clear is that the market has become more optimistic about Sysco over the last month, with the P/E ratio rising from 11.2 back then to 14.9 today. If you like to buy stocks that have recently impressed the market, then this one might be a candidate; but if you prefer to invest when there is 'blood in the streets', then you may feel the opportunity has passed.

Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. As value investor Benjamin Graham famously said, 'In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine. So this free visual report on analyst forecasts could hold the key to an excellent investment decision.

But note: Sysco may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).

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.