Is Atlantic American Corporation’s (NASDAQ:AAME) High P/E Ratio A Problem For Investors?
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Is Atlantic American Corporation’s (NASDAQ:AAME) High P/E Ratio A Problem For Investors?

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The goal of this article is to teach you how to use price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). To keep it practical, we’ll show how Atlantic American Corporation’s (NASDAQ:AAME) P/E ratio could help you assess the value on offer. Based on the last twelve months, Atlantic American’s P/E ratio is 39.77. In other words, at today’s prices, investors are paying $39.77 for every $1 in prior year profit.

See our latest analysis for Atlantic American

How Do I Calculate A Price To Earnings Ratio?

The formula for P/E is:

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

Or for Atlantic American:

P/E of 39.77 = $2.42 ÷ $0.061 (Based on the year to September 2018.)

Is A High P/E 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 necessarily good or bad, but a high P/E implies relatively high expectations of what a company can achieve in the future.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

When earnings fall, the ‘E’ decreases, over time. Therefore, even if you pay a low multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become higher in the future. So while a stock may look cheap based on past earnings, it could be expensive based on future earnings.

Atlantic American shrunk earnings per share by 58% over the last year. And over the longer term (5 years) earnings per share have decreased 40% annually. This growth rate might warrant a below average P/E ratio.

How Does Atlantic American’s P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

The P/E ratio indicates whether the market has higher or lower expectations of a company. You can see in the image below that the average P/E (14.1) for companies in the insurance industry is lower than Atlantic American’s P/E.

NasdaqGM:AAME PE PEG Gauge December 12th 18
NasdaqGM:AAME PE PEG Gauge December 12th 18

That means that the market expects Atlantic American will outperform other companies in its industry. Clearly the market expects growth, but it isn’t guaranteed. So further research is always essential. I often monitor director buying and selling.

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. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. Hypothetically, a company could reduce its future P/E ratio by spending its cash (or taking on debt) to achieve higher earnings.

Spending on growth might be good or bad a few years later, but the point is that the P/E ratio does not account for the option (or lack thereof).

How Does Atlantic American’s Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?

Net debt totals 48% of Atlantic American’s 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 Verdict On Atlantic American’s P/E Ratio

Atlantic American has a P/E of 39.8. That’s higher than the average in the US market, which is 17.1. With some debt but no EPS growth last year, the market has high expectations of future profits.

Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. 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 could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

You might be able to find a better buy than Atlantic American. 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).

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

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