Market Cool On Parkomat International Ltd's (TLV:PRKM) Earnings Pushing Shares 25% Lower

Parkomat International Ltd (TLV:PRKM) shares have retraced a considerable 25% in the last month, reversing a fair amount of their solid recent performance. Longer-term shareholders would now have taken a real hit with the stock declining 9.3% in the last year.

In spite of the heavy fall in price, there still wouldn't be many who think Parkomat International's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 13.8x is worth a mention when the median P/E in Israel is similar at about 12x. Although, it's not wise to simply ignore the P/E without explanation as investors may be disregarding a distinct opportunity or a costly mistake.

With earnings growth that's exceedingly strong of late, Parkomat International has been doing very well. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to wane, which has kept the P/E from rising. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's not quite in favour.

Check out our latest analysis for Parkomat International

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

Is There Some Growth For Parkomat International?

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

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 372% last year. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 57% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Comparing that to the market, which is only predicted to deliver 12% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is stronger based on recent medium-term annualised earnings results.

With this information, we find it interesting that Parkomat International is trading at a fairly similar P/E to the market. Apparently some shareholders believe the recent performance is at its limits and have been accepting lower selling prices.

What We Can Learn From Parkomat International's P/E?

With its share price falling into a hole, the P/E for Parkomat International looks quite average now. Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

Our examination of Parkomat International revealed its three-year earnings trends aren't contributing to its P/E as much as we would have predicted, given they look better than current market expectations. When we see strong earnings with faster-than-market growth, we assume potential risks are what might be placing pressure on the P/E ratio. It appears some are indeed anticipating earnings instability, because the persistence of these recent medium-term conditions would normally provide a boost to the share price.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider and we've discovered 3 warning signs for Parkomat International (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and 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.