The Market Doesn't Like What It Sees From The Sandesh Limited's (NSE:SANDESH) Earnings Yet

When close to half the companies in India have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 31x, you may consider The Sandesh Limited (NSE:SANDESH) as a highly attractive investment with its 7.7x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/E.

Earnings have risen at a steady rate over the last year for Sandesh, which is generally not a bad outcome. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this good earnings growth might actually underperform the broader market in the near future. 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.

See our latest analysis for Sandesh

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 Sandesh's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Is There Any Growth For Sandesh?

Sandesh's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very poor growth or even falling earnings, and importantly, perform much worse than the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 6.8% gain to the company's bottom line. The solid recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 29% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably been satisfied with the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Weighing that recent medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 24% shows it's noticeably less attractive on an annualised basis.

In light of this, it's understandable that Sandesh's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Final Word

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.

We've established that Sandesh maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its recent three-year growth being lower than the wider market forecast, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price rising 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 Sandesh with six simple checks on some of these key factors.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.