In the current market session, Johnson & Johnson Inc. JNJ is trading at $147.09, after a 0.83% drop. However, over the past month, the stock spiked by 2.56%, and in the past year, by 12.87%. Shareholders might be interested in knowing whether the stock is overvalued, even if the company is not performing up to par in the current session.

Assuming that all other factors are held constant, this could present itself as an opportunity for shareholders trying to capitalize on the higher share price. The stock is currently under from its 52 week high by 6.32%.

The P/E ratio is used by long-term shareholders to assess the company’s market performance against aggregate market data, historical earnings, and the industry at large. A lower P/E indicates that shareholders do not expect the stock to perform better in the future, and that the company is probably undervalued. It shows that shareholders are less than willing to pay a high share price, because they do not expect the company to exhibit growth, in terms of future earnings.

Depending on the particular phase of a business cycle, some industries will perform better than others.

Johnson & Johnson Inc. has a lower P/E than the aggregate P/E of 36.49 of the Drug Manufacturers—General industry. Ideally, one might believe that they might perform worse than its peers, but it’s also probable that the stock is undervalued.

Price to earnings ratio is not always a great indicator of the company's performance. Depending on the earnings makeup of a company, investors may not be able to attain key insights from trailing earnings.