“…Due to its intuitive appeal and practical simplicity, the price-earnings (P/E) ratio has long been considered as one of the most frequently used measures of stock valuation. A large number of studies of the determinants of P/E ratio focus on whether the variations of P/E ratio can be explained by macroeconomic factors and firm fundamentals such as risk-free interest rate, inflation, equity risk premium, firm size, leverage ratio, dividend payout ratio, earnings growth and price volatility (Anderson and Brooks, 2006; Chen et al , 2015; Cho, 1994; Chua et al , 2015; Houmes and Chira, 2015; Jitmaneeroj, 2016; Kane et al , 1996; Ramcharran, 2002; Reilly et al , 1983; White, 2000). These studies commonly find that the P/E ratio has a positive relationship with dividend payout ratio, firm size and growth of earnings but a negative relationship with risk-free rate, equity risk premium and leverage ratio.…”