When close to half the companies in Taiwan have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 21x, you may consider Ledtech Electronics Corp. (TWSE:6164) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 49.9x P/E ratio. However, the P/E might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.
The recent earnings growth at Ledtech Electronics would have to be considered satisfactory if not spectacular. It might be that many expect the reasonable earnings performance to beat most other companies over the coming period, which has increased investors’ willingness to pay up for the stock. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.
Check out our latest analysis for Ledtech Electronics
Does Growth Match The High P/E?
There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like Ledtech Electronics' to be considered reasonable.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 4.8% gain to the company's bottom line. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 148% overall rise in EPS, aided somewhat by its short-term performance. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.
This is in contrast to the rest of the market, which is expected to grow by 24% over the next year, materially lower than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.
With this information, we can see why Ledtech Electronics 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.
What We Can Learn From Ledtech Electronics' P/E?
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.
We've established that Ledtech Electronics maintains its high P/E on the strength of its recent three-year growth being higher than the wider market forecast, as expected. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident earnings aren't under threat. Unless the recent medium-term conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.
Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Ledtech Electronics 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).
Valuation is complex, but we're here to simplify it.
Discover if Ledtech Electronics might be undervalued or overvalued with our detailed analysis, featuring fair value estimates, potential risks, dividends, insider trades, and its financial condition.
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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.