A Sliding Share Price Has Us Looking At Ctac N.V.'s (AMS:CTAC) P/E Ratio

To the annoyance of some shareholders, Ctac (AMS:CTAC) shares are down a considerable 38% in the last month. Indeed the recent decline has arguably caused some bitterness for shareholders who have held through the 46% drop over twelve months.

All else being equal, a share price drop should make a stock more attractive to potential investors. 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 long term investors have an opportunity when expectations of a company are too low. 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 implies that investors have high expectations of what a company can achieve compared to a company with a low P/E ratio.

Check out our latest analysis for Ctac

Does Ctac Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

Ctac's P/E is 15.61. The image below shows that Ctac has a P/E ratio that is roughly in line with the it industry average (16.5).

That indicates that the market expects Ctac will perform roughly in line with other companies in its industry. So if Ctac actually outperforms its peers going forward, that should be a positive for the share price. I would further inform my view by checking insider buying and selling., among other things.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

If earnings fall then in the future the 'E' will be lower. That means even if the current P/E is low, it will increase over time if the share price stays flat. Then, a higher P/E might scare off shareholders, pushing the share price down.

Ctac's earnings per share fell by 27% in the last twelve months. And it has shrunk its earnings per share by 6.3% per year over the last five years. This could justify a pessimistic P/E.

A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank

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).

While growth expenditure doesn't always pay off, the point is that it is a good option to have; but one that the P/E ratio ignores.

Is Debt Impacting Ctac's P/E?

Since Ctac holds net cash of €1.5m, it can spend on growth, justifying a higher P/E ratio than otherwise.

The Bottom Line On Ctac's P/E Ratio

Ctac trades on a P/E ratio of 15.6, which is fairly close to the NL market average of 15.2. Although the recent drop in earnings per share would keep the market cautious, the net cash position means it's not surprising that expectations put the company roughly in line with the market average P/E. Given Ctac's P/E ratio has declined from 25.3 to 15.6 in the last month, we know for sure that the market is significantly less confident about the business today, than it was back then. For those who don't like to trade against momentum, that could be a warning sign, but a contrarian investor might want to take a closer look.

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. Although we don't have analyst forecasts you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

But note: Ctac 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.