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This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use oOh!media Limited's (ASX:OML) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. oOh!media has a price to earnings ratio of 27.87, based on the last twelve months. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 3.6%.

Check out our latest analysis for oOh!media

How Do You Calculate A P/E Ratio?

The formula for P/E is:

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

Or for oOh!media:

P/E of 27.87 = A$4.33 ÷ A$0.16 (Based on the year to December 2018.)

Is A High P/E Ratio Good?

The higher the P/E ratio, the higher the price tag of a business, relative to its trailing earnings. All else being equal, it's better to pay a low price -- but as Warren Buffett said, 'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.'

Does oOh!media Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

The P/E ratio indicates whether the market has higher or lower expectations of a company. The image below shows that oOh!media has a higher P/E than the average (13.3) P/E for companies in the media industry.

Its relatively high P/E ratio indicates that oOh!media 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 investors should always consider the P/E ratio alongside other factors, such as whether company directors have been buying shares.

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. And in that case, the P/E ratio itself will drop rather quickly. And as that P/E ratio drops, the company will look cheap, unless its share price increases.

oOh!media shrunk earnings per share by 23% over the last year. But it has grown its earnings per share by 8.2% per year over the last three years.

Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet

Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.

Such spending might be good or bad, overall, but the key point here is that you need to look at debt to understand the P/E ratio in context.