Why We're Not Concerned About SEB SA's (EPA:SK) Share Price

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 19.4x SEB SA (EPA:SK) may be sending bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in France have P/E ratios under 14x and even P/E's lower than 8x are not unusual. 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.

SEB could be doing better as its earnings have been going backwards lately while most other companies have been seeing positive earnings growth. It might be that many expect the dour earnings performance to recover substantially, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. If not, then existing shareholders may be extremely nervous about the viability of the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for SEB

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Is There Enough Growth For SEB?

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

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 15%. This has soured the latest three-year period, which nevertheless managed to deliver a decent 18% overall rise in EPS. Although it's been a bumpy ride, it's still fair to say the earnings growth recently has been mostly respectable for the company.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 19% per annum as estimated by the ten analysts watching the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 10% per year, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

In light of this, it's understandable that SEB's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

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.

As we suspected, our examination of SEB's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

It is also worth noting that we have found 2 warning signs for SEB that you need to take into consideration.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on SEB, 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.