PJ Electronics Co., Ltd.'s (KOSDAQ:006140) Shares Lagging The Market But So Is The Business

When close to half the companies in Korea have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 11x, you may consider PJ Electronics Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ:006140) as an attractive investment with its 7.7x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/E.

PJ Electronics certainly has been doing a great job lately as it's been growing earnings at a really rapid pace. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this strong earnings growth might actually underperform the broader market in the near future. 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 PJ Electronics

Want the full picture on earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on PJ Electronics will help you shine a light on its historical performance.

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

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

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 114% last year. The latest three year period has also seen a 11% overall rise in EPS, aided extensively by its short-term performance. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been respectable for the company.

Weighing that recent medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 26% shows it's noticeably less attractive on an annualised basis.

In light of this, it's understandable that PJ Electronics' P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Key Takeaway

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.

As we suspected, our examination of PJ Electronics revealed its three-year earnings trends are contributing to its low P/E, given they look worse than current market expectations. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider before investing and we've discovered 2 warning signs for PJ Electronics that you should be aware of.

You might be able to find a better investment than PJ Electronics. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.