Earnings Not Telling The Story For Deepak Nitrite Limited (NSE:DEEPAKNTR)

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 40.7x Deepak Nitrite Limited (NSE:DEEPAKNTR) may be sending bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in India have P/E ratios under 29x and even P/E's lower than 16x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Deepak Nitrite hasn't been tracking well recently as its declining earnings compare poorly to other companies, which have seen some growth on average. It might be that many expect the dour earnings performance to recover substantially, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. If not, then existing shareholders may be extremely nervous about the viability of the share price.

View our latest analysis for Deepak Nitrite

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

How Is Deepak Nitrite's Growth Trending?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as high as Deepak Nitrite'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 13%. Even so, admirably EPS has lifted 33% in aggregate from three years ago, notwithstanding the last 12 months. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would probably welcome the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 19% each year over the next three years. With the market predicted to deliver 19% growth per year, the company is positioned for a comparable earnings result.

In light of this, it's curious that Deepak Nitrite's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly average growth expectations and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. These shareholders may be setting themselves up for disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.

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.

Our examination of Deepak Nitrite's analyst forecasts revealed that its market-matching earnings outlook isn't impacting its high P/E as much as we would have predicted. Right now we are uncomfortable with the relatively high share price as the predicted future earnings aren't likely to support such positive sentiment for long. This places shareholders' investments at risk and potential investors in danger of paying an unnecessary premium.

Many other vital risk factors can be found on the company's balance sheet. You can assess many of the main risks through our free balance sheet analysis for Deepak Nitrite with six simple checks.

If you're unsure about the strength of Deepak Nitrite's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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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.