A Rising Share Price Has Us Looking Closely At ZK International Group Co., Ltd.'s (NASDAQ:ZKIN) P/E Ratio

ZK International Group (NASDAQ:ZKIN) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 44%, after some slippage. The bad news is that even after that recovery shareholders are still underwater by about 5.3% for the full 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. The implication here is that deep value investors might steer clear when expectations of a company are too high. 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). Investors have optimistic expectations of companies with higher P/E ratios, compared to companies with lower P/E ratios.

See our latest analysis for ZK International Group

Does ZK International Group Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

ZK International Group's P/E of 2.94 indicates relatively low sentiment towards the stock. If you look at the image below, you can see ZK International Group has a lower P/E than the average (8.5) in the metals and mining industry classification.

ZK International Group's P/E tells us that market participants think it will not fare as well as its peers in the same industry. Many investors like to buy stocks when the market is pessimistic about their prospects. You should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

Companies that shrink earnings per share quickly will rapidly decrease the 'E' in the equation. Therefore, even if you pay a low multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become higher in the future. So while a stock may look cheap based on past earnings, it could be expensive based on future earnings.

ZK International Group saw earnings per share decrease by 5.0% last year. And EPS is down 2.5% a year, over the last 5 years. So you wouldn't expect a very high P/E.

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

Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. 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 expenditure might be good or bad, in the long term, but the point here is that the balance sheet is not reflected by this ratio.

Is Debt Impacting ZK International Group's P/E?

Net debt totals 59% of ZK International Group's market cap. If you want to compare its P/E ratio to other companies, you should absolutely keep in mind it has significant borrowings.

The Bottom Line On ZK International Group's P/E Ratio

ZK International Group has a P/E of 2.9. That's below the average in the US market, which is 15.1. When you consider that the company has significant debt, and didn't grow EPS last year, it isn't surprising that the market has muted expectations. What we know for sure is that investors are becoming less uncomfortable about ZK International Group's prospects, since they have pushed its P/E ratio from 2.0 to 2.9 over the last month. For those who like to invest in turnarounds, that might mean it's time to put the stock on a watchlist, or research it. But others might consider the opportunity to have passed.

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. Although we don't have analyst forecasts shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph 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.

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