Investors Give i-mobile Co.,Ltd. (TSE:6535) Shares A 34% Hiding

i-mobile Co.,Ltd. (TSE:6535) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 34% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. Instead of being rewarded, shareholders who have already held through the last twelve months are now sitting on a 11% share price drop.

Even after such a large drop in price, i-mobileLtd's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 7.5x might still 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 14x and even P/E's above 21x are quite common. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Earnings have risen firmly for i-mobileLtd recently, which is pleasing to see. It might be that many expect the respectable 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.

View our latest analysis for i-mobileLtd

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

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

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

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 21% last year. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 37% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Weighing that recent medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 9.8% shows it's about the same on an annualised basis.

With this information, we find it odd that i-mobileLtd is trading at a P/E lower than the market. It may be that most investors are not convinced the company can maintain recent growth rates.

The Bottom Line On i-mobileLtd's P/E

i-mobileLtd's recently weak share price has pulled its P/E below most other companies. We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

We've established that i-mobileLtd currently trades on a lower than expected P/E since its recent three-year growth is in line with the wider market forecast. When we see average earnings with market-like growth, we assume potential risks are what might be placing pressure on the P/E ratio. At least the risk of a price drop looks to be subdued if recent medium-term earnings trends continue, but investors seem to think future earnings could see some volatility.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - i-mobileLtd has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on i-mobileLtd, 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.

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