Some Shareholders Feeling Restless Over Keyera Corp.'s (TSE:KEY) P/E Ratio

When close to half the companies in Canada have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 14x, you may consider Keyera Corp. (TSE:KEY) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 17.7x P/E ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's as high as it is.

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With earnings growth that's superior to most other companies of late, Keyera has been doing relatively well. The P/E is probably high because investors think this strong earnings performance will continue. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for Keyera

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

Is There Enough Growth For Keyera?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as high as Keyera's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 53%. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 50% 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.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 4.1% per year during the coming three years according to the five analysts following the company. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 9.7% per annum growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we find it concerning that Keyera is trading at a P/E higher than the market. It seems most investors are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects, but the analyst cohort is not so confident this will happen. There's a good chance these shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.

The Key Takeaway

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.

We've established that Keyera currently trades on a much higher than expected P/E since its forecast growth is lower than the wider market. When we see a weak earnings outlook with slower than market growth, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, sending the high P/E lower. This places shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Keyera you should know about.

If you're unsure about the strength of Keyera's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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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.