Insufficient Growth At Linamar Corporation (TSE:LNR) Hampers Share Price

Linamar Corporation's (TSE:LNR) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 5.7x might make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the market in Canada, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 15x and even P/E's above 31x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/E.

The earnings growth achieved at Linamar over the last year would be more than acceptable for most companies. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this respectable earnings growth might actually underperform the broader market in the near future. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

View our latest analysis for Linamar

Although there are no analyst estimates available for Linamar, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/E?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Linamar would need to produce anemic growth that's substantially trailing the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 21% gain to the company's bottom line. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 31% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

This is in contrast to the rest of the market, which is expected to grow by 22% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

With this information, we can see why Linamar is trading at a P/E lower than the market. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Final Word

While the price-to-earnings ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of earnings expectations.

As we suspected, our examination of Linamar revealed its three-year earnings trends are contributing to its low P/E, given they look worse than current market expectations. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - Linamar has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

You might be able to find a better investment than Linamar. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.