How Does IMI's (LON:IMI) P/E Compare To Its Industry, After The Share Price Drop?

Unfortunately for some shareholders, the IMI (LON:IMI) share price has dived 36% in the last thirty days. Indeed the recent decline has arguably caused some bitterness for shareholders who have held through the 32% drop over twelve months.

Assuming nothing else has changed, a lower share price makes a stock more attractive to potential buyers. 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, on certain occasions, long term focussed investors try to take advantage of pessimistic expectations to buy shares at a better price. One way to gauge market expectations of a stock is to look at its Price to Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio). Investors have optimistic expectations of companies with higher P/E ratios, compared to companies with lower P/E ratios.

See our latest analysis for IMI

How Does IMI's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

We can tell from its P/E ratio of 12.15 that sentiment around IMI isn't particularly high. If you look at the image below, you can see IMI has a lower P/E than the average (13.7) in the machinery industry classification.

IMI's P/E tells us that market participants think it will not fare as well as its peers in the same industry. Since the market seems unimpressed with IMI, it's quite possible it could surprise on the upside. If you consider the stock interesting, further research is recommended. For example, I often monitor director buying and selling.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

P/E ratios primarily reflect market expectations around earnings growth rates. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. And as that P/E ratio drops, the company will look cheap, unless its share price increases.

IMI shrunk earnings per share by 9.4% last year. But EPS is up 5.4% over the last 3 years. And it has shrunk its earnings per share by 3.9% per year over the last five years. So you wouldn't expect a very high P/E.

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

The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. 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.

IMI's Balance Sheet

IMI's net debt is 18% of its market cap. That's enough debt to impact the P/E ratio a little; so keep it in mind if you're comparing it to companies without debt.

The Verdict On IMI's P/E Ratio

IMI trades on a P/E ratio of 12.2, which is above its market average of 11.2. With a bit of debt, but a lack of recent growth, it's safe to say the market is expecting improved profit performance from the company, in the next few years. Given IMI's P/E ratio has declined from 19.0 to 12.2 in the last month, we know for sure that the market is significantly less confident about the business today, than it was back then. For those who don't like to trade against momentum, that could be a warning sign, but a contrarian investor might want to take a closer look.

Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. 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.

Of course you might be able to find a better stock than IMI. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly.

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.