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How Does Cambridge Bancorp's (NASDAQ:CATC) P/E Compare To Its Industry, After The Share Price Drop?

To the annoyance of some shareholders, Cambridge Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATC) shares are down a considerable 30% in the last month. That drop has capped off a tough year for shareholders, with the share price down 37% in that time.

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. One way to gauge market expectations of a stock 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.

See our latest analysis for Cambridge Bancorp

How Does Cambridge Bancorp's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

Cambridge Bancorp has a P/E ratio of 9.30. As you can see below Cambridge Bancorp has a P/E ratio that is fairly close for the average for the banks industry, which is 9.4.

NasdaqCM:CATC Price Estimation Relative to Market, March 16th 2020
NasdaqCM:CATC Price Estimation Relative to Market, March 16th 2020

Its P/E ratio suggests that Cambridge Bancorp shareholders think that in the future it will perform about the same as other companies in its industry classification. So if Cambridge Bancorp actually outperforms its peers going forward, that should be a positive for the share price. Further research into factors such as insider buying and selling, could help you form your own view on whether that is likely.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. Earnings growth means that in the future the 'E' will be higher. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers.

Cambridge Bancorp saw earnings per share decrease by 7.2% last year. But EPS is up 7.3% over the last 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. 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.

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.

Is Debt Impacting Cambridge Bancorp's P/E?

Cambridge Bancorp's net debt equates to 26% of its market capitalization. You'd want to be aware of this fact, but it doesn't bother us.

The Verdict On Cambridge Bancorp's P/E Ratio

Cambridge Bancorp's P/E is 9.3 which is below average (12.7) in the US market. Since it only carries a modest debt load, it's likely the low expectations implied by the P/E ratio arise from the lack of recent earnings growth. Given Cambridge Bancorp's P/E ratio has declined from 13.4 to 9.3 in the last month, we know for sure that the market is more worried about the business today, than it was back then. For those who prefer to invest with the flow of momentum, that might be a bad sign, but for deep value investors this stock might justify some research.

When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. If it is underestimating a company, investors can make money by buying and holding the shares until the market corrects itself. So this free report on the analyst consensus forecasts could help you make a master move on this stock.

Of course you might be able to find a better stock than Cambridge Bancorp. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly.

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.