E. Schnapp & Co. Works Ltd (TLV:SHNP) Held Back By Insufficient Growth Even After Shares Climb 31%

E. Schnapp & Co. Works Ltd (TLV:SHNP) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 31% gain and recovering from prior weakness. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 76% in the last year.

Although its price has surged higher, given about half the companies in Israel have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 15x, you may still consider E. Schnapp Works as a highly attractive investment with its 6.3x 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 so limited.

E. Schnapp Works certainly has been doing a great job lately as it's been growing earnings at a really rapid pace. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for E. Schnapp Works

Want the full picture on earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on E. Schnapp Works will help you shine a light on its historical performance.

How Is E. Schnapp Works' Growth Trending?

E. Schnapp Works' P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very poor growth or even falling earnings, and importantly, perform much worse than the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 193%. Still, incredibly EPS has fallen 12% in total from three years ago, which is quite disappointing. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Weighing that medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 26% shows it's an unpleasant look.

With this information, we are not surprised that E. Schnapp Works is trading at a P/E lower than the market. However, we think shrinking earnings are unlikely to lead to a stable P/E over the longer term, which could set up shareholders for future disappointment. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as recent earnings trends are already weighing down the shares.

The Key Takeaway

E. Schnapp Works' recent share price jump still sees its P/E sitting firmly flat on the ground. 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.

We've established that E. Schnapp Works 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. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 3 warning signs for E. Schnapp Works that you should be aware of.

You might be able to find a better investment than E. Schnapp Works. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.