There Is A Reason NV Bekaert SA's (EBR:BEKB) Price Is Undemanding

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 7.3x NV Bekaert SA (EBR:BEKB) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Belgium have P/E ratios greater than 15x and even P/E's higher than 24x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/E.

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While the market has experienced earnings growth lately, NV Bekaert's earnings have gone into reverse gear, which is not great. The P/E is probably low because investors think this poor earnings performance isn't going to get any better. If you still like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

See our latest analysis for NV Bekaert

Keen to find out how analysts think NV Bekaert's future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

Is There Any Growth For NV Bekaert?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the market for P/E ratios like NV Bekaert's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 4.1%. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 34% in total over the last three years. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the five analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 8.0% each year over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 12% per annum growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we can see why NV Bekaert is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on while the company is potentially eyeing a less prosperous future.

The Bottom Line On NV Bekaert's P/E

Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

As we suspected, our examination of NV Bekaert's analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook is contributing to its low P/E. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Having said that, be aware NV Bekaert is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis, you should know about.

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.