What Is Orrstown Financial Services's (NASDAQ:ORRF) P/E Ratio After Its Share Price Tanked?
To the annoyance of some shareholders, Orrstown Financial Services (NASDAQ:ORRF) shares are down a considerable 34% in the last month. The recent drop has obliterated the annual return, with the share price now down 26% over that longer period.
Assuming nothing else has changed, a lower share price makes a stock more 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). So, on certain occasions, long term focussed investors try to take advantage of pessimistic expectations to buy shares at a better price. 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). A high P/E ratio means that investors have a high expectation about future growth, while a low P/E ratio means they have low expectations about future growth.
Check out our latest analysis for Orrstown Financial Services
Does Orrstown Financial Services Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?
Orrstown Financial Services's P/E of 8.78 indicates relatively low sentiment towards the stock. If you look at the image below, you can see Orrstown Financial Services has a lower P/E than the average (9.7) in the banks industry classification.
Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that Orrstown Financial Services shareholders think it will struggle to do as well as other companies in its industry classification. Many investors like to buy stocks when the market is pessimistic about their prospects. If you consider the stock interesting, further research is recommended. For example, I often monitor director buying and selling.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
P/E ratios primarily reflect market expectations around earnings growth rates. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. Therefore, even if you pay a high multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become lower in the future. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers.
Orrstown Financial Services's earnings per share grew by -6.6% in the last twelve months. And its annual EPS growth rate over 3 years is 26%. Unfortunately, earnings per share are down 15% a year, over 5 years.
Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits
The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. 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.
So What Does Orrstown Financial Services's Balance Sheet Tell Us?
Net debt totals a substantial 111% of Orrstown Financial Services's market cap. This is a relatively high level of debt, so the stock probably deserves a relatively low P/E ratio. Keep that in mind when comparing it to other companies.
The Bottom Line On Orrstown Financial Services's P/E Ratio
Orrstown Financial Services trades on a P/E ratio of 8.8, which is below the US market average of 13.3. The meaningful debt load is probably contributing to low expectations, even though it has improved earnings recently. What can be absolutely certain is that the market has become more pessimistic about Orrstown Financial Services over the last month, with the P/E ratio falling from 13.3 back then to 8.8 today. For those who prefer invest in growth, this stock apparently offers limited promise, but the deep value investors may find the pessimism around this stock enticing.
When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. 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. So this free report on the analyst consensus forecasts could help you make a master move on this stock.
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.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
