When close to half the companies in Israel have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 14x, you may consider Enlight Renewable Energy Ltd (TLV:ENLT) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 20.1x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/E.
Enlight Renewable Energy certainly has been doing a great job lately as it's been growing earnings at a really rapid pace. The P/E is probably high because investors think this strong earnings growth will be enough to outperform the broader market in the near future. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.
View our latest analysis for Enlight Renewable Energy
What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The High P/E?
In order to justify its P/E ratio, Enlight Renewable Energy would need to produce impressive growth in excess of the market.
Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 90% last year. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 839% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.
Weighing that recent medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 9.1% shows it's noticeably more attractive on an annualised basis.
With this information, we can see why Enlight Renewable Energy is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. It seems most investors are expecting this strong growth to continue 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 Enlight Renewable Energy revealed its three-year earnings trends are contributing to its high P/E, given they look better than current market expectations. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.
And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Enlight Renewable Energy you should know about.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on a low P/E.
Valuation is complex, but we're here to simplify it.
Discover if Enlight Renewable Energy might be undervalued or overvalued with our detailed analysis, featuring fair value estimates, potential risks, dividends, insider trades, and its financial condition.
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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.