The Centrica (LSE: CNA) share price has misplaced 21% in 12 months. It’s nonetheless up 67% over the previous 5 years, however core valuation measures might make it look low-cost.

The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio might be essentially the most generally used metric. And I’ll attempt to get a deal with on it.

Earnings uncertainty

We have to resolve if we’re going to have a look at the trailing P/E. That has the benefit of being calculated from precise earnings, however it’s up to now.

The ahead P/E is predicated on forecasts and helps information us to the place the valuation may be going. However forecasts are sometimes fallacious.

So, I’m simply going to take first-half earnings per share (EPS), double it as my full-year estimate, and see the place that leads.

It’s compounded by Centrica reporting statutory H1 EPS of 25.1p, down from 73p in 2023. However on the similar time it put its adjusted EPS at solely 12.8p, from an adjusted 25.8p in 2023.

There’s a large discrepancy there between what accounting requirements mandate and the place the corporate thinks its honest earnings measure ought to be. And that’s a warning for us to at all times be cautious of a single set of outcomes, and even a number of units over a comparatively quick time.

Difficult valuation

Anyway, utilizing first-half adjusted EPS as a base, I get an estimated ahead P/E for the complete 12 months of 4.8.

In actuality, it would in all probability are available in greater than that, with second-half earnings prone to fall. Centrica stated it expects “profitability to be closely weighted to the primary half of 2024“. The corporate additionally expects web money to “decline within the second half“.

Forecasts put the full-year P/E at 6.5. That’s nonetheless very low, in what seems to be like a dreadful 12 months. And analysts count on extra unhealthy information, with earnings falling for the subsequent few years to carry the 2026 P/E to 9.6.

That’s on in the present day’s share price although, so the place do the analysts assume it would go?

Goal

The Metropolis at the moment has a mean 168p share price goal on Centrica, with a reasonably robust purchase consensus. If that comes off, it might imply a 38% achieve. And we’d want a 72% climb to succeed in the excessive finish of the goal vary, at 210p.

There’s a backside finish to the vary too, at 130p. However even that’s 6.6% forward of the price on the time of writing.

That is all very unsure. And brokers’ price targets can usually be nothing greater than scorching air. But when I owned Centrica shares, at the very least I’d be happy that no person was calling for them to fall.

Oh, you realize who does assume Centrica shares are good worth? Centrica itself, at the moment engaged in a share buyback.

Time to purchase?

To sum up, forecasts alone are nowhere close to sufficient for me to make a purchase choice. And there are different valuation measures that may very well be far more vital than the P/E proper now.

So I’d use these few snippets as simply a part of my research. And I’d have to dig lots deeper, and critically take into consideration that falling earnings threat, earlier than deciding if I’d purchase.