Transferator AB (publ) (NGM:TRAN A) Shares Fly 26% But Investors Aren't Buying For Growth

Despite an already strong run, Transferator AB (publ) (NGM:TRAN A) shares have been powering on, with a gain of 26% in the last thirty days. Not all shareholders will be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down a very disappointing 33% in the last twelve months.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, Transferator may still be sending very bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 7.9x, since almost half of all companies in Sweden have P/E ratios greater than 22x and even P/E's higher than 36x 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 so limited.

We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free.

Transferator certainly has been doing a great job lately as it's been growing earnings at a really rapid pace. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, 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 Transferator

We don't have analyst forecasts, but you can see how recent trends are setting up the company for the future by checking out our free report on Transferator's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

How Is Transferator's Growth Trending?

Transferator's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very poor growth or even falling earnings, and importantly, perform much worse than the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 70% last year. However, this wasn't enough as the latest three year period has seen a very unpleasant 63% drop in EPS in aggregate. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 26% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term earnings results is a sobering picture.

With this information, we are not surprised that Transferator is trading at a P/E lower than the market. However, we think shrinking earnings are unlikely to lead to a stable P/E over the longer term, which could set up shareholders for future disappointment. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as recent earnings trends are already weighing down the shares.

The Final Word

Shares in Transferator are going to need a lot more upward momentum to get the company's P/E out of its slump. 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.

As we suspected, our examination of Transferator revealed its shrinking earnings over the medium-term are contributing to its low P/E, given the market is set to grow. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

You need to take note of risks, for example - Transferator has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is potentially serious) we think you should know about.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Transferator, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.