Sumitomo Corporation (TSE:8053) Looks Inexpensive But Perhaps Not Attractive Enough

Sumitomo Corporation's (TSE:8053) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 8.4x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the market in Japan, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 15x and even P/E's above 24x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

Sumitomo could be doing better as its earnings have been going backwards lately while most other companies have been seeing positive earnings growth. It seems that many are expecting the dour earnings performance to persist, which has repressed the P/E. If you still 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 Sumitomo

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Sumitomo.

How Is Sumitomo's Growth Trending?

Sumitomo's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than 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%. Unfortunately, that's brought it right back to where it started three years ago with EPS growth being virtually non-existent overall during that time. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the nine analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 2.4% per year over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 10% per annum growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we can see why Sumitomo 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 Final Word

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 Sumitomo 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. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

It is also worth noting that we have found 2 warning signs for Sumitomo (1 is concerning!) that you need to take into consideration.

If you're unsure about the strength of Sumitomo'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.