Investors Appear Satisfied With Eureka Forbes Limited's (NSE:EUREKAFORB) Prospects

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 65x Eureka Forbes Limited (NSE:EUREKAFORB) may be sending very bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in India have P/E ratios under 27x and even P/E's lower than 15x are not unusual. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

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Eureka Forbes certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings more than most other companies. It seems that many are expecting the strong earnings performance to persist, which has raised the P/E. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

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

Eureka Forbes' P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 66% last year. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 224% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 29% per year as estimated by the eight analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 20% each year, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this information, we can see why Eureka Forbes 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.

The Final Word

We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

As we suspected, our examination of Eureka Forbes' 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. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Many other vital risk factors can be found on the company's balance sheet. Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis for Eureka Forbes with six simple checks on some of these key factors.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Eureka Forbes, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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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.