The price/earnings (P/E) ratio tells us how much investors are willing to pay for a dollar d. Assets will be. relatively poor growth prospects, then it will have relatively high P/E (price-to-earnings) and M/B (market-to-book) ratios. of current earnings. In general, investors regard companies with higher P/E ratios as being less risky and/or more likely to enjoy higher growth in the future. In general, investors regard companies with higher Market-to-Book ratios as being riskier and/or less likely to enjoy higher growth in the future.