Today we're going to take a closer look at large-cap Real Estate Simon Property, whose shares are currently trading at $117.27. We've been asking ourselves whether the company is under or over valued at today's prices... let's find out!
Simon is a real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership of premier shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations and an S&P 100 company (Simon Property Group, NYSE: SPG). Our properties across North America, Europe and Asia provide community gathering places for millions of people every day and generate billions in annual sales. The company belongs to the Real Estate sector, which has an average price to earnings (P/E) ratio of 27.16 and an average price to book (P/B) ratio of 2.39. In contrast, Simon Property has a trailing 12 month P/E ratio of 19.5 and a P/B ratio of 12.9.
P/B ratios are calculated by dividing the company's market value by its book value. The book value refers to all of the company's tangible assets minus its liabilities -- meaning that intangibles such as intellectual property, brand name, and good will are not taken into account. Traditionally, a P/B ratio of around 1 shows that a company is fairly valued, but owing to consistently higher valuations in the modern era, investors generally compare against sector averages.
P/E ratios have their limits on their usefulness too. Since the P/E ratio is the share price divided by earnings per share, the ratio is determined partially by market sentiment on the stock. Sometimes a negative sentiment translates to a lower market price and therefore a lower P/E ratio -- and there might be good reasons for this negative sentiment.
One of the main reasons not to blindly invest in a company with a low P/E ratio is that it might have low growth expectations. Low growth correlates with low stock performance, so it's useful to factor growth into the valuation process. One of the easiest ways to do this is to divide the company's P/E ratio by its expected growth rate, which results in the price to earnings growth, or PEG ratio.
Simon Property's PEG ratio is 2.48, which shows that the stock is overvalued in terms of its estimated growth. For reference, a PEG ratio near or below 1 is a potential signal that a company is undervalued.
