Despite Its High P/E Ratio, Is Fiducial Office Solutions (EPA:SACI) Still Undervalued?

This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use Fiducial Office Solutions's (EPA:SACI) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. What is Fiducial Office Solutions's P/E ratio? Well, based on the last twelve months it is 35.53. In other words, at today's prices, investors are paying €35.53 for every €1 in prior year profit.

See our latest analysis for Fiducial Office Solutions

How Do You Calculate A P/E Ratio?

The formula for price to earnings is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for Fiducial Office Solutions:

P/E of 35.53 = €27.600 ÷ €0.777 (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2019.)

(Note: the above calculation results may not be precise due to rounding.)

Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?

The higher the P/E ratio, the higher the price tag of a business, relative to its trailing earnings. All else being equal, it's better to pay a low price -- but as Warren Buffett said, 'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price'.

How Does Fiducial Office Solutions's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

The P/E ratio essentially measures market expectations of a company. You can see in the image below that the average P/E (12.8) for companies in the commercial services industry is lower than Fiducial Office Solutions's P/E.

Its relatively high P/E ratio indicates that Fiducial Office Solutions shareholders think it will perform better than other companies in its industry classification. Clearly the market expects growth, but it isn't guaranteed. So investors should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling.

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. Then, a higher P/E might scare off shareholders, pushing the share price down.

Fiducial Office Solutions increased earnings per share by an impressive 20% over the last twelve months. And its annual EPS growth rate over 5 years is 49%. This could arguably justify a relatively high P/E ratio. Unfortunately, earnings per share are down 5.8% a year, over 3 years.

Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits

One drawback of using a P/E ratio is that it considers market capitalization, but not the balance sheet. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. The exact same company would hypothetically deserve a higher P/E ratio if it had a strong balance sheet, than if it had a weak one with lots of debt, because a cashed up company can spend on growth.

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.

How Does Fiducial Office Solutions's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?

Fiducial Office Solutions has net debt worth just 0.2% of its market capitalization. The market might award it a higher P/E ratio if it had net cash, but its unlikely this low level of net borrowing is having a big impact on the P/E multiple.

The Verdict On Fiducial Office Solutions's P/E Ratio

Fiducial Office Solutions's P/E is 35.5 which is above average (13.9) in its market. Its debt levels do not imperil its balance sheet and it is growing EPS strongly. Therefore, it's not particularly surprising that it has a above average P/E ratio.

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. Although we don't have analyst forecasts shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

You might be able to find a better buy than Fiducial Office Solutions. 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.