Should We Worry About CMS Energy Corporation's (NYSE:CMS) P/E Ratio?

The goal of this article is to teach you how to use price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use CMS Energy Corporation's (NYSE:CMS) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Based on the last twelve months, CMS Energy's P/E ratio is 22.70. That corresponds to an earnings yield of approximately 4.4%.

View our latest analysis for CMS Energy

How Do I Calculate CMS Energy's Price To Earnings Ratio?

The formula for price to earnings is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for CMS Energy:

P/E of 22.70 = $54.550 ÷ $2.403 (Based on the year to December 2019.)

(Note: the above calculation results may not be precise due to rounding.)

Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?

A higher P/E ratio means that buyers have to pay a higher price for each $1 the company has earned over the last year. That isn't a good or a bad thing on its own, but a high P/E means that buyers have a higher opinion of the business's prospects, relative to stocks with a lower P/E.

How Does CMS Energy's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

We can get an indication of market expectations by looking at the P/E ratio. You can see in the image below that the average P/E (17.5) for companies in the integrated utilities industry is lower than CMS Energy's P/E.

Its relatively high P/E ratio indicates that CMS Energy shareholders think it will perform better than other companies in its industry classification. The market is optimistic about the future, but that doesn't guarantee future growth. So further research is always essential. I often monitor director buying and selling.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

Generally speaking the rate of earnings growth has a profound impact on a company's P/E multiple. When earnings grow, the 'E' increases, over time. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. Then, a lower P/E should attract more buyers, pushing the share price up.

CMS Energy's earnings per share grew by 3.2% in the last twelve months. And earnings per share have improved by 6.4% annually, over the last five years.

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

It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. 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.

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.

CMS Energy's Balance Sheet

CMS Energy's net debt is 84% of its market cap. This is enough debt that you'd have to make some adjustments before using the P/E ratio to compare it to a company with net cash.

The Bottom Line On CMS Energy's P/E Ratio

CMS Energy's P/E is 22.7 which is above average (12.4) in its market. With relatively high debt, and reasonably modest earnings per share growth over twelve months, it's safe to say the market believes the company will improve its growth in the future.

When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. People often underestimate remarkable growth -- so investors can make money when fast growth is not fully appreciated. So this free visual report on analyst forecasts could hold the key to an excellent investment decision.

You might be able to find a better buy than CMS Energy. If you want a selection of possible winners, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20 (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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.