What You Can Learn From SK Chemicals Co.,Ltd's (KRX:285130) P/E

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 22x SK Chemicals Co.,Ltd (KRX:285130) may be sending very bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Korea have P/E ratios under 10x and even P/E's lower than 6x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

SK ChemicalsLtd 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.

See our latest analysis for SK ChemicalsLtd

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How Is SK ChemicalsLtd's Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like SK ChemicalsLtd's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 56% decrease to the company's bottom line. As a result, earnings from three years ago have also fallen 79% overall. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 22% per year during the coming three years according to the two analysts following the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 15% per annum, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

In light of this, it's understandable that SK ChemicalsLtd's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

The Bottom Line On SK ChemicalsLtd's P/E

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 SK ChemicalsLtd maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. 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.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for SK ChemicalsLtd you should know about.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than SK ChemicalsLtd. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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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.