With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 18.5x SBI ARUHI Corporation (TSE:7198) may be sending bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Japan have P/E ratios under 12x and even P/E's lower than 8x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.
SBI ARUHI 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.
Check out our latest analysis for SBI ARUHI
How Is SBI ARUHI's Growth Trending?
SBI ARUHI's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver solid growth, and importantly, perform better than the market.
If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 4.3%. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk EPS by 70% in aggregate. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.
Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 27% as estimated by the dual analysts watching the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 10%, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.
With this information, we can see why SBI ARUHI is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.
The Bottom Line On SBI ARUHI's P/E
While the price-to-earnings ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of earnings expectations.
As we suspected, our examination of SBI ARUHI's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.
Having said that, be aware SBI ARUHI is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, you should know about.
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.
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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.
About TSE:7198
Reasonable growth potential with acceptable track record.
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