DCC plc's (LON:DCC) Share Price Matching Investor Opinion

When close to half the companies in the United Kingdom have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 16x, you may consider DCC plc (LON:DCC) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 21.7x P/E ratio. However, the P/E might be high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

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DCC hasn't been tracking well recently as its declining earnings compare poorly to other companies, which have seen some growth on average. 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 DCC

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

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

In order to justify its P/E ratio, DCC would need to produce impressive growth in excess of the market.

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 24%. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 32% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the eight analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 27% per year over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 17% per year growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we can see why DCC is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

What We Can Learn From DCC's P/E?

Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

As we suspected, our examination of DCC's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 2 warning signs for DCC you should be aware of.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than DCC. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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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.