ok, educate me please!
what's P/E mate and what do the figures you mention (94 and 5.3) mean?
cheeers!
Good question young man. Wiki explains it better than me:
The average U.S. equity P/E ratio from 1900 to 2005 is 14 (or 16, depending on whether the geometric mean or the arithmetic mean, respectively, is used to average).
Normally, stocks with high earning growth are traded at higher P/E values. From the previous example, stock A, trading at $24 per share, may be expected to earn $6 per share the next year. Then the forward P/E ratio is $24/6 = 4. So, an investor is paying $4 for every $1 of earnings, which makes the stock more attractive than it was the previous year.
The P/E ratio implicitly incorporates the perceived risk of a given company's future earnings. For a stock purchaser, this risk includes the possibility of bankruptcy. For companies with high leverage (that is, high levels of debt), the risk of bankruptcy will be higher than for other companies. Assuming the effect of leverage is positive, the earnings for a highly leveraged company will also be higher. In principle, the P/E ratio incorporates this information, and different P/E ratios may reflect the structure of the balance sheet.
Variations on the standard trailing and forward P/E ratios are common. Generally, alternative P/E measures substitute different measures of earnings, such as rolling averages over longer periods of time (to "smooth" volatile earnings, for example),[SUP][7][/SUP] or "corrected" earnings figures that exclude certain extraordinary events or one-off gains or losses. The definitions may not be standardized.
Various interpretations of a particular P/E ratio are possible, and the historical table below is just indicative and cannot be a guide, as current P/E ratios should be compared to current real interest rates (seeFed model):
[TABLE="class: wikitable"]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"] N/A [/TH]
[TD]A company with no earnings has an
undefined P/E ratio. By convention, companies with losses (negative earnings) are usually treated as having an undefined P/E ratio, even though a negative P/E ratio can be mathematically determined.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"]0–10[/TH]
[TD]Either the stock is undervalued or the company's earnings are thought to be in decline. Alternatively, current earnings may be substantially above historic trends or the company may have profited from selling assets.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"]10–17[/TH]
[TD]For many companies a P/E ratio in this range may be considered fair value.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"]17–25[/TH]
[TD]Either the stock is overvalued or the company's earnings have increased since the last earnings figure was published. The stock may also be a
growth stock with earnings expected to increase substantially in future.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"]25+[/TH]
[TD]A company whose shares have a very high P/E may have high expected future growth in earnings or the stock may be the subject of a
speculative bubble.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
It is usually not enough to look at the P/E ratio of one company and determine its status. Usually, an analyst will look at a company's P/E ratio compared to the industry the company is in, the sector the company is in, as well as the overall market (for example the S&P 500 if it is listed in a US exchange). Sites such as Reuters offer these comparisons in one table. Example of SPY Often, comparisons will also be made between quarterly and annual data. Only after a comparison with the industry, sector, and market can an analyst determine whether a P/E ratio is high or low with the above mentioned distinctions (i.e., undervaluation, over valuation, fair valuation, etc.).