Star Mica Holdings Co., Ltd. (TSE:2975) Could Be Riskier Than It Looks

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 7.3x Star Mica Holdings Co., Ltd. (TSE:2975) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Japan have P/E ratios greater than 15x and even P/E's higher than 22x 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.

As an illustration, earnings have deteriorated at Star Mica Holdings over the last year, which is not ideal at all. It might be that many expect the disappointing earnings performance to continue or accelerate, 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.

See our latest analysis for Star Mica Holdings

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Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as low as Star Mica Holdings' is when the company's growth is on track to lag the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 6.1% decrease to the company's bottom line. However, a few very strong years before that means that it was still able to grow EPS by an impressive 36% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would probably welcome the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

It's interesting to note that the rest of the market is similarly expected to grow by 9.8% over the next year, which is fairly even with the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

With this information, we find it odd that Star Mica Holdings is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Apparently some shareholders are more bearish than recent times would indicate and have been accepting lower selling prices.

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 Star Mica Holdings currently trades on a lower than expected P/E since its recent three-year growth is in line with the wider market forecast. There could be some unobserved threats to earnings preventing the P/E ratio from matching the company's performance. It appears some are indeed anticipating earnings instability, because the persistence of these recent medium-term conditions should normally provide more support to the share price.

It is also worth noting that we have found 2 warning signs for Star Mica Holdings (1 is potentially serious!) that you need to take into consideration.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Star Mica Holdings, 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