What is a Good Price to Book Value Ratio? Value investors often prefer values lower than 1.0, which suggests that an undervalued stock may have been found. The benchmark for certain value investors, however, may frequently be equities with a less strict P/B value of less than 3.0.
To give you some sense of what the average for the market is, though, many value investors would refer to 20 to 25 as the average P/E ratio range. And again, like golf, the lower the P/E ratio a company has, the better an investment the metric is saying it is.
Typically, the average P/E ratio is around 20 to 25. Anything below that would be considered a good price-to-earnings ratio, whereas anything above that would be a worse P/E ratio. But it doesn't stop there, as different industries can have different average P/E ratios.
A good PE (Price to Earnings) ratio in India usually falls between 12 and 20, indicating that a company's stock is neither overvalued nor undervalued. This range balances risk and growth potential, making it ideal for Indian stock market investment.
Apple (AAPL) PE Ratio (TTM) : 38.55 (As of Jan. 14, 2025)
Debt to Equity Ratio
This key ratio is comparing the debt to the equity in the company. Warren Buffett prefers a company with a debt to equity ratio that is below . 5. In other words, for every $10 in equity the company should only have $5 in debt.
The Rule of 90 is a grim statistic that serves as a sobering reminder of the difficulty of trading. According to this rule, 90% of novice traders will experience significant losses within their first 90 days of trading, ultimately wiping out 90% of their initial capital.
Buffett's Strategy
Warren Buffett, the greatest value investor of this century, now tends to buy stocks with a P/B ratio of around 1.3.
Understanding P/B Ratio
A P/B ratio of less than one means that the stock is trading at less than its book value or the stock is undervalued and, therefore, a good buy. Conversely, a stock with a ratio greater than one can be interpreted as being overvalued or relatively expensive.
In general, a P/B ratio below one indicates that a company is undervalued, while a ratio above one indicates that the company's stock is trading at a premium. However, what this tells you about a company varies between industries. Depending on the sector a company is in, lower or higher P/B ratios may be the norm.
Generally, a smaller price-to-sales (P/S) ratio (i.e. less than 1.0) is usually thought to be a better investment since the investor is paying less for each unit of sales. However, sales do not reveal the whole picture, as the company may be unprofitable and have a low P/S ratio.
While average ratios, as well as those considered “good” and “bad”, can vary substantially from sector to sector, a return on equity ratio of 15% to 20% is usually considered good. At 5%, the ratio would be considered low.
The average P/B ratio for banking firms, as of the first quarter of 2021, is approximately 1.28. P/B is sometimes calculated as an absolute value, dividing a company's total market capitalization by the book value from the company's current balance sheet. The calculation is sometimes done on a per-share basis.
The 90/10 rule in investing is a comment made by Warren Buffett regarding asset allocation. The rule stipulates investing 90% of one's investment capital toward low-cost stock-based index funds and the remainder 10% to short-term government bonds.
According to this principle, individuals should hold a percentage of stocks equal to 100 minus their age. So, for a typical 60-year-old, 40% of the portfolio should be equities. The rest would comprise high-grade bonds, government debt, and other relatively safe assets.
A: Five rules drawn from Warren Buffett's wisdom for potentially building wealth include investing for the long term, staying informed, maintaining a competitive advantage, focusing on quality, and managing risk.
You can also determine when a stock is undervalued based on fundamental analysis, such as financial health and growth potential, or during market dips when prices are temporarily low. Positive catalysts or strong institutional buying can also signal a good buying opportunity.
Despite his stock-picking prowess, Buffett is a strong advocate for simplicity in investing, particularly for the average investor. He has consistently recommended index funds as a straightforward and effective investment strategy.
As of today (2025-01-12), Apple's share price is $236.85. Apple's Book Value per Share for the quarter that ended in Sep. 2024 was $3.77. Hence, Apple's PB Ratio of today is 62.87.
Although the average standard P/E ratio is around 20 to 25. Anything below that would be considered a good price-to-earnings ratio, Some world famous invester consider below 15 is good PE Ratio to invest in the stock.
The mean historical PE ratio of Costco Wholesale over the last ten years is 35.42. The current 54.17 P/E ratio is 53% higher than the historical average. Looking back at the last ten years, COST's PE ratio peaked in the Nov 2024 quarter at 56.47, with a price of $964.01 and an EPS of $17.07.