With Powertech Industrial Co., Ltd. (TPE:3296) It Looks Like You'll Get What You Pay For

Powertech Industrial Co., Ltd.'s (TPE:3296) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 51.5x might make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in Taiwan, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 19x and even P/E's below 14x are quite common. However, the P/E might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Recent times have been quite advantageous for Powertech Industrial as its earnings have been rising very briskly. The P/E is probably high because investors think this strong earnings growth will be enough to outperform the broader market in the near future. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Check out our latest analysis for Powertech Industrial

Although there are no analyst estimates available for Powertech Industrial, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The High P/E?

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

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 59%. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 1,633% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.

Comparing that to the market, which is only predicted to deliver 25% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is stronger based on recent medium-term annualised earnings results.

With this information, we can see why Powertech Industrial is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. It seems most investors are expecting this strong growth to continue and are willing to pay more for the stock.

The Key Takeaway

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

We've established that Powertech Industrial maintains its high P/E on the strength of its recent three-year growth being higher than the wider market forecast, 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. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Having said that, be aware Powertech Industrial is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 2 of those shouldn't be ignored.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Powertech Industrial. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that sit on P/E's below 20x and have grown earnings strongly.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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