How Does Oconee Federal Financial's (NASDAQ:OFED) P/E Compare To Its Industry, After Its Big Share Price Gain?

Oconee Federal Financial (NASDAQ:OFED) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 42%, after some slippage. The full year gain of 17% is pretty reasonable, too.

Assuming no other changes, a sharply higher share price makes a stock less 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). The implication here is that deep value investors might steer clear when expectations of a company are too high. One way to gauge market expectations of a stock is to look at its Price to Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio). A high P/E implies that investors have high expectations of what a company can achieve compared to a company with a low P/E ratio.

Check out our latest analysis for Oconee Federal Financial

Does Oconee Federal Financial Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

We can tell from its P/E ratio of 38.78 that there is some investor optimism about Oconee Federal Financial. You can see in the image below that the average P/E (11.8) for companies in the mortgage industry is a lot lower than Oconee Federal Financial's P/E.

That means that the market expects Oconee Federal Financial will outperform other companies in its industry. 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.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

If earnings fall then in the future the 'E' will be lower. 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.

Oconee Federal Financial's earnings per share grew by 7.3% in the last twelve months. But earnings per share are down 10% per year over the last three years.

Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet

One drawback of using a P/E ratio is that it considers market capitalization, but not the balance sheet. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future) by investing in growth. That means taking on debt (or spending its 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 Oconee Federal Financial's P/E?

Oconee Federal Financial has net cash of US$24m. This is fairly high at 16% of its market capitalization. That might mean balance sheet strength is important to the business, but should also help push the P/E a bit higher than it would otherwise be.

The Bottom Line On Oconee Federal Financial's P/E Ratio

Oconee Federal Financial's P/E is 38.8 which is above average (17.5) in its market. Recent earnings growth wasn't bad. And the healthy balance sheet means the company can sustain growth while the P/E suggests shareholders think it will. What is very clear is that the market has become significantly more optimistic about Oconee Federal Financial over the last month, with the P/E ratio rising from 27.3 back then to 38.8 today. If you like to buy stocks that have recently impressed the market, then this one might be a candidate; but if you prefer to invest when there is 'blood in the streets', then you may feel the opportunity has passed.

Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. People often underestimate remarkable growth -- so investors can make money when fast growth is not fully appreciated. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

But note: Oconee Federal Financial may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).

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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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.