What is the Price-to-Cash Flow Ratio?

The price-to-cash-flow ratio refers to a multiple that compares the market value of a company relative to its operating cash flow per share. The ratio makes use of the operating cash flow by adding back non-cash expenses like amortization and depreciation to net income. In other words, it helps measure the company's stock current price relative to the amount of cash that the company generates. Another term for the price-to-cash-flow ratio is the P/CF or price/cash flow ratio.

How Does a Price to Cash Flow Ratio Work?

P/CF is a valuation metric, which determines the company's worth based on the cash flow it has been able to generate. It shows the amount an investor is ready to pay for the cash flow a company has generated. So, investors use this type of ratio to describe the company's valuation with respect to cash. In theory, when the price/cash flow ratio is low, it means that the stock value is better. On the other hand, a high P/CF is an indication that the price of trading of a particular company is high. In this case, it means that there are not enough cash flows that are being generated to support the multiple. However, this is sometimes good, depending on the industry, company, and specific operations.

How do you Calculate the Price-to-Cash Flow Ratio?

To calculate the price-to-cash-flow ratio, you divide the market cap of the company by its operating cash flow using the recent four fiscal quarters or recent fiscal year. You can also divide the per-share stock price by the per-share operating cash flow. Formula: Price to cash flow ratio= Operating cash flow per share/Share price

Why is Price-To-Cash-Flow Ratio Important?

• It provides investors with useful insights about the value of a company than the P/E ratio. It is because the P/CF ratio uses a denominator that excludes the depreciation effects and the accounting differences to do with depreciation.
• It shows how much money the firm is generating in relation to its stock price instead of its earnings recording relative to stock price.
• It provides companies in the same industry insights. For instance, firms with lower price-to-cash-flow ratios have a habit of being more capital-intensive. So, when defining a high or low ratio, it should be made within this setting.

Generally, the P/CF ratio is considered to be a better option, especially when doing stock valuation in relation to the price-to-earnings ratio (P/E). Investors, in most cases, prefer the P/CF ratio over the P/E ratio. The reason is that it is impossible to manipulate the cash flows of the company when comparing it to its earnings.

Related Topics

• Trend Analysis of Financial Statements
• Common-Size Analysis (Vertical Analysis) of Financial Statements
• Common-Size Financial Statement
• Net Dollar Retention
• Horizontal Analysis
• Per Share Basis
• Profitability Ratios
• Gross Margin Ratio
• Profit Margin
• After Tax Profit Margin
• Return on Assets
• Total Shareholder Return
• Cash on Cash Return
• Earnings Per Share
• Diluted Earnings Per Share
• Asset Turnover Ratio
• Berry Ratio
• Break-Even Analysis
• Liquidity Ratio
• Current ratio  (Working Capital Ratio)
• Working Ratio
• Quick Ratio
• Quick Assets
• Days Sales Outstanding
• Cash Ratio (Operating Cash Flow Ratio)
• Receivables turnover ratio (often converted to average collection period)
• Accounts Payable Turnover Ratio
• Inventory turnover ratio (often converted to average sale period)
• Solvency (Coverage Ratios)
• Leverage Ratio (Debt Ratio)
• Asset Coverage Ratio
• Debt to Equity
• Debt to Income Ratio
• Debt Coverage Ratio
• Times Interest Earned
• Market Capitalization
• Price to Equity Ratio
• Book-To-Market Ratio
• Price to Earnings Ratio
• Price to Earnings Growth (PEG) Ratio
• Price to Earnings Growth Payback Ratio
• CAPE Ratio
• Price to Cash Flow Ratio
• Capital Maintenance
• Book to Bill Ratio
• Asset Turnover Ratio
• Plowback Ratio 
• Days Inventory Outstanding
• Days Payable Outstanding
• Days Sales Outstanding
• Non-financial Performance Measures: The Balance Scorecard