Why Investors Shouldn't Be Surprised By Celestica Inc.'s (TSE:CLS) P/E

When close to half the companies in Canada have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 13x, you may consider Celestica Inc. (TSE:CLS) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 17.6x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/E.

Recent times have been pleasing for Celestica as its earnings have risen in spite of the market's earnings going into reverse. It seems that many are expecting the company to continue defying the broader market adversity, which has increased investors’ willingness to pay up for the stock. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

See our latest analysis for Celestica

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Celestica.

How Is Celestica's Growth Trending?

Celestica's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver solid growth, and importantly, perform better than the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 54%. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 556% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 25% as estimated by the six analysts watching the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 13%, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

In light of this, it's understandable that Celestica's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Final Word

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 Celestica maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Celestica that you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on a low P/E.

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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.