A Rising Share Price Has Us Looking Closely At Corporate Travel Management Limited's (ASX:CTD) P/E Ratio

Those holding Corporate Travel Management (ASX:CTD) shares must be pleased that the share price has rebounded 45% in the last thirty days. But unfortunately, the stock is still down by 29% over a quarter. But that will do little to salve the savage burn caused by the 52% share price decline, over the last 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Corporate Travel Management

How Does Corporate Travel Management's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

Corporate Travel Management's P/E of 17.01 indicates relatively low sentiment towards the stock. The image below shows that Corporate Travel Management has a lower P/E than the average (21.5) P/E for companies in the hospitality industry.

Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that Corporate Travel Management 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. It is arguably worth checking if insiders are buying shares, because that might imply they believe the stock is undervalued.

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. That means even if the current P/E is high, it will reduce over time if the share price stays flat. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers.

Corporate Travel Management's earnings per share fell by 6.9% in the last twelve months. But it has grown its earnings per share by 27% per year over the last five 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. 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.

How Does Corporate Travel Management's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?

Corporate Travel Management has net cash of AU$65m. That should lead to a higher P/E than if it did have debt, because its strong balance sheets gives it more options.

The Bottom Line On Corporate Travel Management's P/E Ratio

Corporate Travel Management trades on a P/E ratio of 17.0, which is above its market average of 14.6. The recent drop in earnings per share would make some investors cautious, but the healthy balance sheet means the company retains the potential for future growth. If this growth fails to materialise, the current high P/E could prove to be temporary, as the share price falls. What we know for sure is that investors have become much more excited about Corporate Travel Management recently, since they have pushed its P/E ratio from 11.7 to 17.0 over the last month. If you like to buy stocks that have recently impressed the market, then this one might be a candidate; but if you prefer to invest when there is 'blood in the streets', then you may feel the opportunity has passed.

Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. 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: Corporate Travel Management 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).

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.