What Does Ormester Vagyonvédelmi Nyrt's (BUSE:ORMESTER) PE Ratio Tell You?

I am writing today to help inform people who are new to the stock market and want to start learning about core concepts of fundamental analysis on practical examples from today's market.

Ormester Vagyonvédelmi Nyrt (BUSE:ORMESTER) is trading with a trailing P/E of 73.8x, which is higher than the industry average of 18.2x. While this makes ORMESTER appear like a stock to avoid or sell if you own it, you might change your mind after I explain the assumptions behind the P/E ratio. Today, I will explain what the P/E ratio is as well as what you should look out for when using it.

See our latest analysis for Ormester Vagyonvédelmi Nyrt

Breaking down the Price-Earnings ratio

P/E is often used for relative valuation since earnings power is a chief driver of investment value. By comparing a stock’s price per share to its earnings per share, we are able to see how much investors are paying for each dollar of the company’s earnings.

On its own, the P/E ratio doesn’t tell you much; however, it becomes extremely useful when you compare it with other similar companies. Ideally, we want to compare the stock’s P/E ratio to the average of companies that have similar characteristics as ORMESTER, such as size and country of operation. A common peer group is companies that exist in the same industry, which is what I use below. Since it is expected that similar companies have similar P/E ratios, we can come to some conclusions about the stock if the ratios are different.

Since ORMESTER's P/E of 73.8x is higher than its industry peers (18.2x), it means that investors are paying more than they should for each dollar of ORMESTER's earnings. Since the Commercial Services sector in HU is relatively small, I’ve included similar companies in the wider region in order to get a better idea of the multiple, which is a median of profitable companies of companies such as ANY Security Printing, and . As such, our analysis shows that ORMESTER represents an over-priced stock.

A few caveats

Before you jump to the conclusion that ORMESTER should be banished from your portfolio, it is important to realise that our conclusion rests on two important assertions. The first is that our “similar companies” are actually similar to ORMESTER. If the companies aren’t similar, the difference in P/E might be a result of other factors. For example, if you are inadvertently comparing riskier firms with ORMESTER, then ORMESTER’s P/E would naturally be higher than its peers since investors would reward its lower risk with a higher price. The other possibility is if you were accidentally comparing lower growth firms with ORMESTER. In this case, ORMESTER’s P/E would be higher since investors would also reward ORMESTER’s higher growth with a higher price. The second assumption that must hold true is that the stocks we are comparing ORMESTER to are fairly valued by the market. If this does not hold, there is a possibility that ORMESTER’s P/E is higher because firms in our peer group are being undervalued by the market.

What this means for you:

Since you may have already conducted your due diligence on ORMESTER, the overvaluation of the stock may mean it is a good time to reduce your current holdings. But at the end of the day, keep in mind that relative valuation relies heavily on critical assumptions I've outlined above. Remember that basing your investment decision off one metric alone is certainly not sufficient. There are many things I have not taken into account in this article and the PE ratio is very one-dimensional. If you have not done so already, I urge you to complete your research by taking a look at the following:

1. Financial Health: Is ORMESTER’s operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why we’ve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here.
2. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

Simply Wall St analyst Simply Wall St and Simply Wall St have no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.