With 5N Plus Inc. (TSE:VNP) It Looks Like You'll Get What You Pay For

When close to half the companies in Canada have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 15x, you may consider 5N Plus Inc. (TSE:VNP) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 32.8x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

As an illustration, earnings have deteriorated at 5N Plus over the last year, which is not ideal at all. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think the company will still do enough to outperform the broader market in the near future. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Check out our latest analysis for 5N Plus

Want the full picture on earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on 5N Plus will help you shine a light on its historical performance.

Does Growth Match The High P/E?

5N Plus' P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 63%. However, a few very strong years before that means that it was still able to grow EPS by an impressive 2,037% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a very good job of growing earnings over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Comparing that to the market, which is only predicted to deliver 1.5% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is stronger based on recent medium-term annualised earnings results.

In light of this, it's understandable that 5N Plus' P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting this strong growth to continue and are willing to pay more for the stock.

The Final Word

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

We've established that 5N Plus maintains its high P/E on the strength of its recent three-year growth being higher than the wider market forecast, as expected. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident earnings aren't under threat. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 2 warning signs for 5N Plus you should be aware of, and 1 of them is potentially serious.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20x).

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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