{"id":30087,"date":"2023-01-02T05:44:34","date_gmt":"2023-01-02T05:44:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/study-notes\/?p=30087"},"modified":"2026-01-20T16:42:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T16:42:31","slug":"valuation-with-comparables-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/study-notes\/cfa-level-2\/equity-valuation\/valuation-with-comparables-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Valuation with Comparables"},"content":{"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\r\n{\r\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\r\n  \"@type\": \"QAPage\",\r\n  \"mainEntity\": {\r\n    \"@type\": \"Question\",\r\n    \"name\": \"Which item is least likely to be used as a benchmark multiple in valuation?\",\r\n    \"text\": \"Which of the following can least likely be used as a benchmark multiple in a valuation based on multiples?\\n\\nA. The average past value of the P\/Es for the stock.\\n\\nB. The P\/E ratio for a representative equity index.\\n\\nC. A group of assets.\",\r\n    \"answerCount\": 3,\r\n    \"acceptedAnswer\": {\r\n      \"@type\": \"Answer\",\r\n      \"text\": \"C. A group of assets.\\n\\nA group of assets by itself cannot be used directly as a benchmark multiple. However, summary statistics such as the mean or median multiple of the group can be used as a benchmark. The average past P\/E of the stock and the P\/E of a representative equity index are both valid benchmark multiples.\"\r\n    },\r\n    \"suggestedAnswer\": [\r\n      {\r\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\r\n        \"text\": \"A. The average past value of the P\/Es for the stock.\"\r\n      },\r\n      {\r\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\r\n        \"text\": \"B. The P\/E ratio for a representative equity index.\"\r\n      }\r\n    ]\r\n  }\r\n}\r\n<\/script>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0kMmbenpFuo\" width=\"611\" height=\"343\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2>Valuation based on Comparables<\/h2>\r\n<p>The P\/E valuation method is used to estimate a company\u2019s stock value by applying a benchmark multiple to the company\u2019s actual or forecasted earnings. An equivalent approach is to compare a stock\u2019s actual price multiple with a benchmark value of the multiple.<\/p>\r\n<p>The steps for valuation based on comparables are as follows:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Select and calculate the price multiple.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select the benchmark and compute its price multiple.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Estimate the value of the company\u2019s stock using the benchmark multiple.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Investigate if the differences between the stock and benchmark multiples are explained by underlying determinants of the multiple. If not, the asset may be mispriced; check the fundamentals!<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h3>Types of Benchmark Values<\/h3>\r\n<p>The benchmark multiple may be:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The average or median P\/E ratio for the company\u2019s peer group of companies in an industry or an average of the past P\/E ratios for the stock relative to the peer group.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The average past value of the P\/E for the stock.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The P\/E ratio for a representative equity index.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>The Value of a Stock<\/h2>\r\n<p>If the stock price is higher than the price based on the benchmark multiple, the stock is relatively overvalued. If the stock price is lower than the price based on the benchmark multiple, the stock is relatively undervalued.<\/p>\r\n<h3>Example: Evaluating P\/E Ratios with the Method of Comparables<\/h3>\r\n<p>Consider the following P\/E information on two stocks<\/p>\r\n<p>$$\\small{\\begin{array}{l|c|c|c|c}&amp; \\textbf{Trailing P\/E} &amp; \\textbf{Leading P\/E} &amp; \\textbf{5-year growth} &amp; \\textbf{Beta}\\\\ \\hline\\text{A} &amp; 9 &amp; 7 &amp; 9\\% &amp; 1.1 \\\\ \\hline\\text{B} &amp; 13 &amp; 10 &amp; 7\\% &amp; 1.2 \\\\ \\hline\\text{Peer median} &amp; 12 &amp; 11 &amp; 9\\% &amp; 1.1\\\\ \\end{array}}$$<\/p>\r\n<p>Evaluate the value and P\/E of each stock based on the method of comparables.<\/p>\r\n<h4>Solution<\/h4>\r\n<p>Stock A has a lower P\/E than the peer median, even though it has a comparable growth rate and beta. It is undervalued relative to the benchmark.<\/p>\r\n<p>Stock B has a higher P\/E, despite lower expected growth and a higher beta. It is overvalued relative to the benchmark.<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<h2>Question<\/h2>\r\n<p>Which of the following can <em>least likely<\/em> be used as a benchmark multiple in a valuation based on multiples?<\/p>\r\n<ol style=\"list-style-type: upper-alpha;\">\r\n\t<li>The average past value of the P\/Es for the stock.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The P\/E ratio for a representative equity index.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>A group of assets.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h3>Solution<\/h3>\r\n<p><strong>The correct answer is C.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>A group of assets by itself could not be used as a benchmark multiple. However, the mean or median of a group of assets could be used as a benchmark multiple.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>A is incorrect.\u00a0<\/strong>The average past value of the P\/Es of the stock could be used as a benchmark multiple.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>B is incorrect.\u00a0<\/strong>The P\/E ratio for a representative equity index could be used as a benchmark multiple.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p>Reading 25: Market-Based Valuation: Price and Enterprise Value Multiples<\/p>\r\n<p><em>LOS 25 (r) Evaluate whether a stock is overvalued, fairly valued, or undervalued based on comparisons of multiples.<\/em><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff\ufeff Valuation based on Comparables The P\/E valuation method is used to estimate a company\u2019s stock value by applying a benchmark multiple to the company\u2019s actual or forecasted earnings. An equivalent approach is to compare a stock\u2019s actual price multiple&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[102,401],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cfa-level-2","category-equity-valuation","blog-post","no-post-thumbnail","animate"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Equity Valuation with Comparables | CFA Level II Notes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how valuation with comparables works, including P\/E multiples, benchmark selection, and how comparable firms are used to value equity.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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