Potential Upside For Birla Corporation Limited (NSE:BIRLACORPN) Not Without Risk

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 28.4x Birla Corporation Limited (NSE:BIRLACORPN) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in India have P/E ratios greater than 34x and even P/E's higher than 64x 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 limited.

With earnings growth that's superior to most other companies of late, Birla has been doing relatively well. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this strong earnings performance might be less impressive moving forward. 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 out of favour.

View our latest analysis for Birla

Keen to find out how analysts think Birla's future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

Is There Any Growth For Birla?

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

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 102%. However, this wasn't enough as the latest three year period has seen a very unpleasant 50% drop in EPS in aggregate. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 28% each year over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 19% per annum growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we find it odd that Birla is trading at a P/E lower than the market. It looks like most investors are not convinced at all that the company can achieve future growth expectations.

The Final Word

It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

We've established that Birla currently trades on a much lower than expected P/E since its forecast growth is higher than the wider market. When we see a strong earnings outlook with faster-than-market growth, we assume potential risks are what might be placing significant pressure on the P/E ratio. It appears many are indeed anticipating earnings instability, because these conditions should normally provide a boost to the share price.

Plus, you should also learn about these 2 warning signs we've spotted with Birla (including 1 which is potentially serious).

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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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.