Little Excitement Around ACEA S.p.A.'s (BIT:ACE) Earnings

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 11.2x ACEA S.p.A. (BIT:ACE) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Italy have P/E ratios greater than 15x and even P/E's higher than 26x 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.

Recent times have been advantageous for ACEA as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. 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.

Check out our latest analysis for ACEA

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Is There Any Growth For ACEA?

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

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 35% last year. As a result, it also grew EPS by 5.3% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has actually done a good job of growing earnings over that time.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 0.4% per annum during the coming three years according to the four analysts following the company. With the market predicted to deliver 19% growth each year, the company is positioned for a weaker earnings result.

With this information, we can see why ACEA is trading at a P/E lower than the market. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Bottom Line On ACEA's P/E

Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

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

Before you take the next step, you should know about the 2 warning signs for ACEA that we have uncovered.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on ACEA, 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.