Lacklustre Performance Is Driving Caltagirone SpA's (BIT:CALT) Low P/E

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 8.2x Caltagirone SpA (BIT:CALT) may be sending very bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Italy have P/E ratios greater than 18x and even P/E's higher than 29x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/E.

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As an illustration, earnings have deteriorated at Caltagirone over the last year, which is not ideal at all. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think the company won't do enough to avoid underperforming 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 Caltagirone

Although there are no analyst estimates available for Caltagirone, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Is There Any Growth For Caltagirone?

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

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 4.3%. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 35% overall rise in EPS, in spite of its unsatisfying short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a very good job of growing earnings over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 24% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is weaker based on recent medium-term annualised earnings results.

In light of this, it's understandable that Caltagirone'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 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.

We've established that Caltagirone maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its recent three-year growth being lower than the wider market forecast, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

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

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

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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.