Speedvalue Ltd's (TLV:SPDV) Business Is Yet to Catch Up With Its Share Price

When close to half the companies in Israel have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 13x, you may consider Speedvalue Ltd (TLV:SPDV) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 15.6x P/E ratio. However, the P/E might be high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

As an illustration, earnings have deteriorated at Speedvalue over the last year, which is not ideal at all. It might be that many expect the company to still outplay most other companies over the coming period, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

View our latest analysis for Speedvalue

We don't have analyst forecasts, but you can see how recent trends are setting up the company for the future by checking out our free report on Speedvalue's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Is There Enough Growth For Speedvalue?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as high as Speedvalue's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine 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 47%. 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. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 25% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term earnings results is a sobering picture.

In light of this, it's alarming that Speedvalue's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than recent times would indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as a continuation of recent earnings trends is likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.

The Key Takeaway

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 Speedvalue revealed its shrinking earnings over the medium-term aren't impacting its high P/E anywhere near as much as we would have predicted, given the market is set to grow. Right now we are increasingly uncomfortable with the high P/E as this earnings performance is highly unlikely to support such positive sentiment for long. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it will place shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.

Having said that, be aware Speedvalue is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, you should know about.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Speedvalue. 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.