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Price to Earnings Ratio Calculator

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What is the price to earnings ratio?Price/earnings ratio formulaHow to calculate the price/earnings ratio?Interpreting the results of P/E ratio formulaFAQs

This price-to-earnings ratio calculator helps investors determine whether a particular company's stock is overvalued or undervalued. If you're looking for a good investment opportunity, read on. In the article below, we'll explain what the price-to-earnings ratio is and how to calculate it. We will also present a simple P/E ratio formula.

If you want to analyze the stock of a company in more detail, head straight to our price-to-book ratio calculator!

What is the price to earnings ratio?

Price/earnings ratio - often called the price to earnings ratio or the P/E ratio - is a finance indicator that measures a company's stock price concerning earnings per share. Simply put, it shows the balance between price and earnings from the stocks. Thanks to this ratio, we can see how profitable it is to buy shares of a specific company.

Also, we can use the P/E ratio to determine if shares are over- or undervalued. For example, if you consider two companies in the same industry but with entirely different values of the P/E ratio, it might mean that the valuation of one of them is not believable.

Another valuable calculation you may wish to explore is the volatility of the stock you are interested in. Visit the beta stock calculator to learn more.

Price/earnings ratio formula

To calculate the price/earnings ratio, you need two elements:

  • Price per share - the market price of a stock. This value heavily depends on the supply and demand of the market.
  • Earnings per share - the profit that a company gains from each outstanding share of common stock. If a company doesn't have any net income but only net losses, it won't have a P/E ratio. Visit our earnings per share calculator to learn more about earnings per share.

If you want to know what is the P/E ratio of a certain company, you need to divide the share price by the earnings according to the P/E ratio formula below:

P/E ratio = share price / earnings per share.

How to calculate the price/earnings ratio?

Let's analyze the example of a company that has been on the market for several years. To find out what is their price/earnings ratio, you need to do the following:

  1. Determine the market share price. Let's assume that it is equal to $25.

  2. Determine the earnings per share over the last 12 months. In our example, we'll set this value to $1.80.

  3. Use the price/earnings ratio formula:

P/E ratio = 25/1.80 = 13.90

  1. As you can see, the P/E ratio in our example is roughly 14x the earnings.

Of course, you could simply input the values in the price-to-earnings ratio calculator and have the value calculated for you 😉.

Interpreting the results of P/E ratio formula

Now that we have arrived at a result, we can try to interpret it. As a general rule, a company with a high P/E ratio is considered more profitable on the market - it means that investors are willing to pay more per share because they anticipate fast growth and higher future earnings.

To determine whether the price/earnings ratio is high or low, you need to compare it with the P/E ratios of other companies in the same industry. For instance, if your company has a P/E of 14x the earnings and most of its competitors have 12x the earnings, you could say that your business is considered more valuable by the market.

FAQs

How can I calculate the P/E ratio?

You can calculate the P/E ratio in 3 steps:

  1. Determine the price of the stock.

  2. Compute the earnings per share (EPS).

  3. Apply the P/E ratio formula:

    P/E ratio = price / EPS.

Can the P/E ratio be negative?

Yes, the P/E ratio can be negative. This typically occurs when a company reports negative earnings or losses. However, negative P/E ratios are less common and may require additional analysis to understand the underlying reasons.

What does a low P/E ratio indicate?

A low P/E ratio often suggests that investors have low expectations for a company's future earnings. It may also indicate that the stock is relatively cheap compared to its current earnings.

What is the P/E ratio for a stock with a price of $120?

Assuming that the EPS is $10, the P/E ratio of the stock is 12x. You can calculate it by using this formula:

P/E ratio = price / EPS.

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