A Rising Share Price Has Us Looking Closely At Lake Shore Bancorp, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:LSBK) P/E Ratio

Lake Shore Bancorp (NASDAQ:LSBK) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 22% in the last month alone, although it is still down 14% over the last quarter. But shareholders may not all be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down 12% in the last year.

Assuming no other changes, a sharply higher share price makes a stock less attractive to potential buyers. While the market sentiment towards a stock is very changeable, in the long run, the share price will tend to move in the same direction as earnings per share. 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.

See our latest analysis for Lake Shore Bancorp

How Does Lake Shore Bancorp's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

We can tell from its P/E ratio of 19.46 that there is some investor optimism about Lake Shore Bancorp. You can see in the image below that the average P/E (10.4) for companies in the mortgage industry is lower than Lake Shore Bancorp's P/E.

Its relatively high P/E ratio indicates that Lake Shore Bancorp shareholders think it will perform better than other companies in its industry classification. Shareholders are clearly optimistic, but the future is always uncertain. So investors should always consider the P/E ratio alongside other factors, such as whether company directors have been buying shares.

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. Earnings growth means that in the future the 'E' will be higher. That means even if the current P/E is high, it will reduce over time if the share price stays flat. And as that P/E ratio drops, the company will look cheap, unless its share price increases.

Lake Shore Bancorp increased earnings per share by 3.4% last year. And it has bolstered its earnings per share by 4.4% per year over the last five years.

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

It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. 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 Lake Shore Bancorp's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?

Net debt totals just 9.6% of Lake Shore Bancorp's market cap. So it doesn't have as many options as it would with net cash, but its debt would not have much of an impact on its P/E ratio.

The Verdict On Lake Shore Bancorp's P/E Ratio

Lake Shore Bancorp has a P/E of 19.5. That's higher than the average in its market, which is 13.3. With modest debt relative to its size, and modest earnings growth, the market is likely expecting sustained long-term growth, if not a near-term improvement. What is very clear is that the market has become more optimistic about Lake Shore Bancorp over the last month, with the P/E ratio rising from 15.9 back then to 19.5 today. For those who prefer to invest with the flow of momentum, that might mean it's time to put the stock on a watchlist, or research it. But the contrarian may see it as a missed opportunity.

Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. If the reality for a company is better than it expects, you can make money by buying and holding for the long term. Although we don't have analyst forecasts you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with modest (or no) debt, trading on a P/E 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.