Japanese (NIKKEI) Materials Sector Analysis

Sector Valuation and Performance

Has the Japanese Materials Sector valuation changed over the past few years?

Current Industry PE: Investors are more pessimistic on the industry, considering it's trading at a PE ratio of 7.9x which is lower than its 3-year average PE of 12.3x. It appears they believe that earnings will not grow as fast as they have historically.

Past Earnings Growth: The earnings for companies in the Materials industry have grown 4.1% per year over the last three years, while revenues have remained mostly flat. This means that companies overall are more efficiently conducting business since profits are increasing while sales have been flat.

Industry Trends

Which industries have driven the changes within the Japanese Materials sector?

Industry PE: Investors are most optimistic about the Metals and Mining industry which is trading above its 3-year average PE ratio of 10.4x. However analysts are expecting annual earnings decline of 1.1%, which is lower than the prior year's growth of 76% per year. So the market might believe that analysts are underestimating future growth or they expect the Metals and Mining industry's earnings to deteriorate the least compared to other industries. Meanwhile, investors are most pessimistic about the Basic Materials industry, which is trading below its 3-year average of 8.9x.

Forecasted Growth: Analysts are most optimistic on the Chemicals industry, expecting annual earnings growth of 9.5% over the next 5 years. However this is lower than its past earnings growth rate of 56% per year. Meanwhile, the Metals and Mining industry is expected to see its earnings growth to stay flat over the next few years.

Top Stock Gainers and Losers

Which companies have driven the market over the last 7 days?