Unfortunately for some shareholders,château d'audrieu the

TCF Financial

(

NASDAQ:TCF

) share price has dived 38% in the last thirty days. Indeed the recent decline has arguably caused some bitterness for shareholders who have held through the 37% drop over twelve months.

Assuming nothing else has changed, a lower share price makes a stock more attractive to potential buyers. 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. Perhaps the simplest way to get a read on investors' expectations of a business 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 TCF Financial

How Does TCF Financial's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

TCF Financial has a P/E ratio of 10.42. The image below shows that TCF Financial has a P/E ratio that is roughly in line with the banks industry average (10.5).

NasdaqGS:TCF Price Estimation Relative to Market, March 10th 2020

TCF Financial's P/E tells us that market participants think its prospects are roughly in line with its industry. So if TCF Financial actually outperforms its peers going forward, that should be a positive for the share price. Checking factors such as

director buying and selling

. could help you form your own view on if that will happen.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

Earnings growth rates have a big influence on P/E ratios. 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.

TCF Financial's earnings per share fell by 26% in the last twelve months. But it has grown its earnings per share by 6.6% per year over the last five years.

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

It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. 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.

TCF Financial's Balance Sheet

Net debt totals 94% of TCF Financial's market cap. If you want to compare its P/E ratio to other companies, you should absolutely keep in mind it has significant borrowings.

Story continues

The Bottom Line On TCF Financial's P/E Ratio

TCF Financial's P/E is 10.4 which is below average (15.1) in the US market. The P/E reflects market pessimism that probably arises from the lack of recent EPS growth, paired with significant leverage. What can be absolutely certain is that the market has become significantly less optimistic about TCF Financial over the last month, with the P/E ratio falling from 16.8 back then to 10.4 today. For those who don't like to trade against momentum, that could be a warning sign, but a contrarian investor might want to take a closer look.

Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. 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. So this

free

visualization of the analyst consensus on future earnings

could help you make the

right decision

about whether to buy, sell, or hold.

But note:

TCF Financial may not be the best stock to buy

. So take a peek at this

free

list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at

[email protected]

. 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.

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