Why Investors Shouldn't Be Surprised By Giant Manufacturing Co., Ltd.'s (TWSE:9921) P/E

With a median price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of close to 21x in Taiwan, you could be forgiven for feeling indifferent about Giant Manufacturing Co., Ltd.'s (TWSE:9921) P/E ratio of 22.6x. While this might not raise any eyebrows, if the P/E ratio is not justified investors could be missing out on a potential opportunity or ignoring looming disappointment.

While the market has experienced earnings growth lately, Giant Manufacturing's earnings have gone into reverse gear, which is not great. It might be that many expect the dour earnings performance to strengthen positively, which has kept the P/E from falling. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

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

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Giant Manufacturing would need to produce growth that's similar to the market.

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 27%. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 62% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 27% during the coming year according to the eight analysts following the company. With the market predicted to deliver 25% growth , the company is positioned for a comparable earnings result.

With this information, we can see why Giant Manufacturing is trading at a fairly similar P/E to the market. It seems most investors are expecting to see average future growth and are only willing to pay a moderate amount 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.

As we suspected, our examination of Giant Manufacturing's analyst forecasts revealed that its market-matching earnings outlook is contributing to its current P/E. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings won't throw up any surprises. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to support the share price at these levels.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider before investing and we've discovered 1 warning sign for Giant Manufacturing that you should be aware of.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

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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.