Sentiment Still Eluding Takashimaya Company, Limited (TSE:8233)

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 10.9x Takashimaya Company, Limited (TSE:8233) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Japan have P/E ratios greater than 14x and even P/E's higher than 21x 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.

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With earnings growth that's superior to most other companies of late, Takashimaya Company has been doing relatively well. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this strong earnings performance might be less impressive moving forward. 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 Takashimaya Company

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

How Is Takashimaya Company's Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Takashimaya Company would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow earnings per share by a handy 15% last year. However, due to its less than impressive performance prior to this period, EPS growth is practically non-existent over the last three years overall. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing earnings over that time.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 16% during the coming year according to the four analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 10%, which is noticeably less attractive.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Takashimaya Company's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. Apparently some shareholders are doubtful of the forecasts and have been accepting significantly lower selling prices.

The Final Word

It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

We've established that Takashimaya Company currently trades on a much lower than expected P/E since its forecast growth is higher than the wider market. When we see a strong earnings outlook with faster-than-market growth, we assume potential risks are what might be placing significant pressure on the P/E ratio. At least price risks look to be very low, but investors seem to think future earnings could see a lot of volatility.

A lot of potential risks can sit within a company's balance sheet. Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis for Takashimaya Company with six simple checks on some of these key factors.

If you're unsure about the strength of Takashimaya Company'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.