মূল্য ডিকোডিং: P/E, P/B এবং DCF ফ্রেমওয়ার্ক

To navigate the stock market and identify overvalued or undervalued companies, every investor must master the language of valuation. While markets are often moved by sentiment and headlines, a company's true worth is anchored in its fundamentals. This article breaks down the three most essential valuation tools used by professionals: the Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio, the Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio, and the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Model. 1. The P/E Ratio: The Price Tag on EarningsThe Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio is the most widely cited metric in finance, providing a simple answer to a complex question: How much are investors willing to pay for one dollar of a company's earnings? If a company has a P/E of 20, it means investors are willing to pay $20 for every $1 the company earns annually. You can interpret this as the number of years it would take for the company to "pay back" the price of the stock based on its current earnings level. Interpretation: High P/E: Often suggests a Growth Stock. Investors expect rapid future growth, justifying the high premium. Low P/E: Often suggests a Value Stock. Investors may be skeptical about future growth, or the stock could be undervalued. Limitation: P/E must be compared only within the same industry. A high P/E is normal for a tech company; it would be alarmingly high for a utility company. 2. The P/B Ratio: Valuing the Company's Net Assets The Price-to-Book (P/B) Ratio is favoured by conservative and "value" investors, as it provides a look at a company's net asset value, or what shareholders would theoretically own if the company were liquidated. (Book Value = Total Assets - Total Liabilities) BVPS represents the accounting value of a company's assets minus its liabilities. A P/B ratio of 2.0 means the stock is trading at twice its book value; the market believes the company is worth double the value of its physical assets on the balance sheet. Interpretation:P/B < 1.0: The stock is trading for less than the liquidation value of its assets. This often signals a deeply undervalued stock or, potentially, a serious underlying risk (a "value trap") that the market sees but the balance sheet does not fully reflect. Applicability: This metric is highly useful for companies with significant physical assets, like banks, manufacturers, and real estate investment trusts (REITs). It is less useful for asset-light tech companies. 3. The DCF Model: Calculating Intrinsic ValueThe Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Model is the most comprehensive and complex method, used by professional analysts to determine a stock's true intrinsic value. It applies the principle that a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow. The Concept: DCF calculates the present-day value of all the cash an investment is expected to generate in the future. Key Components:Future Cash Flows (FCF): The money the company is expected to generate over the next 5–10 years. Discount Rate ($r$): This is the required rate of return or the cost of capital. It accounts for the risk of the investment and the time value of money. Interpretation: If the DCF Intrinsic Value is higher than the current stock price, the stock is considered undervalued. If the DCF Intrinsic Value is lower than the current stock price, the stock is considered overvalued. Limitation: The DCF model is highly sensitive to the initial assumptions made about future growth rates and the discount rate; slight changes in these inputs can drastically change the final valuation.