Why Opus Bank’s (NASDAQ:OPB) High P/E Ratio Isn’t Necessarily A Bad Thing
The goal of this article is to teach you how to use price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We’ll show how you can use Opus Bank’s (NASDAQ:OPB) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Based on the last twelve months, Opus Bank’s P/E ratio is 25.97. That corresponds to an earnings yield of approximately 3.9%.
See our latest analysis for Opus Bank
How Do You Calculate A P/E Ratio?
The formula for P/E is:
Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)
Or for Opus Bank:
P/E of 25.97 = $21.36 ÷ $0.82 (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.)
Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?
A higher P/E ratio means that investors are paying a higher price for each $1 of company earnings. That isn’t a good or a bad thing on its own, but a high P/E means that buyers have a higher opinion of the business’s prospects, relative to stocks with a lower P/E.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
If earnings fall then in the future the ‘E’ will be lower. Therefore, even if you pay a low multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become higher in the future. Then, a higher P/E might scare off shareholders, pushing the share price down.
Opus Bank saw earnings per share decrease by 36% last year. And over the longer term (5 years) earnings per share have decreased 37% annually. This might lead to muted expectations.
How Does Opus Bank’s P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?
We can get an indication of market expectations by looking at the P/E ratio. As you can see below, Opus Bank has a higher P/E than the average company (13.3) in the banks industry.
Opus Bank’s P/E tells us that market participants think the company will perform better than its industry peers, going forward. Shareholders are clearly optimistic, but the future is always uncertain. So investors should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling.
A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank
The ‘Price’ in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future), by taking on debt (or spending its remaining cash).
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.
Is Debt Impacting Opus Bank’s P/E?
The extra options and safety that comes with Opus Bank’s US$122m net cash position means that it deserves a higher P/E than it would if it had a lot of net debt.
The Verdict On Opus Bank’s P/E Ratio
Opus Bank’s P/E is 26 which is above average (17.5) in the US market. The recent drop in earnings per share would make some investors cautious, but the healthy balance sheet means the company retains potential for future growth. If fails to eventuate, the current high P/E could prove to be temporary, as the share price falls.
Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. If the reality for a company is better than it expects, you can make money by buying and holding for the long term. So this free report on the analyst consensus forecasts could help you make a master move on this stock.
Of course you might be able to find a better stock than Opus Bank. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly.
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.
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. Thank you for reading.
