Knowledge

Telling the emperor that his clothes are torn

May 27, 2015

1 min read

The title means that the quality companies which are trading at very high multiples in the range of 70 – 80 – 90 P/e multiples are not justified as earnings have not grown at the same pace. These companies are way ahead of the fundamentals and much beyond the intrinsic value.

There are plenty of quality FMCG companies which are in a over-stretched zone. A few may still command that premium but if earnings do not reflect growth there is a high probability of mean reversion.

Warren Buffet himself has said that its not always prudent to hold a business as a stock forever. If valuations are unjustified, it is necessary to exit the business and opportunity cost to be evaluated at all times. The conception that its always beneficial to hold a business for eternity does not hold true.

Bottom-line is one should be very careful in holding a business in portfolio and evaluate the earnings vis-a-vis P/E multiple. One should not chase fancies of the market.

Rajeev Thakkar

He is the Chief Investment Officer of PPFAS Mutual Fund.

Regarded by many as a polymath, his presentations, cover diverse topics ranging from the state of the shipping industry, corporate leadership, capital allocation and individual companies like Google. His audience usually takes to him wholeheartedly, as he possesses the endearing quality of 'talking to' them and not 'talking down to' them. Apart from them, certain presentations may be made by a few of their colleagues on account of them being well versed with a specific topic.

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