LINK Mobility Group Holding ASA's (OB:LINK) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 36.2x might make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in Norway, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 11x and even P/E's below 7x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.
Recent times have been advantageous for LINK Mobility Group Holding as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. It seems that many are expecting the strong earnings performance to persist, which has raised the P/E. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.
View our latest analysis for LINK Mobility Group Holding
What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The High P/E?
The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as steep as LINK Mobility Group Holding's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market decidedly.
If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 345%. However, the latest three year period hasn't been as great in aggregate as it didn't manage to provide any growth at all. Therefore, it's fair to say that earnings growth has been inconsistent recently for the company.
Shifting to the future, estimates from the four analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 41% each year over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 18% per annum growth forecast for the broader market.
With this information, we can see why LINK Mobility Group Holding is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.
What We Can Learn From LINK Mobility Group Holding'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 LINK Mobility Group Holding 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.
Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 1 warning sign for LINK Mobility Group Holding that you should be aware of.
If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.
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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.