Taiga Building Products Ltd.'s (TSE:TBL) Price Is Right But Growth Is Lacking

When close to half the companies in Canada have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 15x, you may consider Taiga Building Products Ltd. (TSE:TBL) as a highly attractive investment with its 6.9x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/E.

As an illustration, earnings have deteriorated at Taiga Building Products over the last year, which is not ideal at all. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think the company won't do enough to avoid underperforming the broader market in the near future. However, if this doesn't eventuate then existing shareholders may be feeling optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for Taiga Building Products

We don't have analyst forecasts, but you can see how recent trends are setting up the company for the future by checking out our free report on Taiga Building Products' earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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

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

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 3.2% decrease to the company's bottom line. 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.

Weighing that medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 25% shows it's an unpleasant look.

With this information, we are not surprised that Taiga Building Products is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/E has reached a floor yet with earnings going in reverse. There's potential for the P/E to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its profitability.

The Bottom Line On Taiga Building Products' P/E

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 Taiga Building Products maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its sliding earnings over the medium-term, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

Many other vital risk factors can be found on the company's balance sheet. Our free balance sheet analysis for Taiga Building Products with six simple checks will allow you to discover any risks that could be an issue.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Taiga Building Products, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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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.