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 The Restaurant Group plc's (LON:RTN) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Based on the last twelve months, Restaurant Group's P/E ratio is 56.98. In other words, at today's prices, investors are paying £56.98 for every £1 in prior year profit.
View our latest analysis for Restaurant Group
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 Restaurant Group:
P/E of 56.98 = £1.38 ÷ £0.024 (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.)
Is A High P/E Ratio Good?
The higher the P/E ratio, the higher the price tag of a business, relative to its trailing earnings. That isn't necessarily good or bad, but a high P/E implies relatively high expectations of what a company can achieve in the future.
Does Restaurant Group Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?
We can get an indication of market expectations by looking at the P/E ratio. As you can see below, Restaurant Group has a higher P/E than the average company (20.7) in the hospitality industry.
That means that the market expects Restaurant Group will outperform other companies in its industry.
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.
Restaurant Group's earnings per share fell by 73% in the last twelve months. And EPS is down 39% a year, over the last 5 years. This growth rate might warrant a below average P/E ratio.
A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank
Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in 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.
Is Debt Impacting Restaurant Group's P/E?
Restaurant Group's net debt equates to 43% of its market capitalization. While that's enough to warrant consideration, it doesn't really concern us.
The Verdict On Restaurant Group's P/E Ratio
Restaurant Group's P/E is 57 which suggests the market is more focussed on the future opportunity rather than the current level of earnings. With modest debt but no EPS growth in the last year, it's fair to say the P/E implies some optimism about future earnings, from the market.
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. So this free report on the analyst consensus forecasts could help you make a master move on this stock.
But note: Restaurant Group 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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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.