Good Times Restaurants Inc. (NASDAQ:GTIM) Not Doing Enough For Some Investors As Its Shares Slump 26%

Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Good Times Restaurants Inc. (NASDAQ:GTIM) share price has dived 26% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. The drop over the last 30 days has capped off a tough year for shareholders, with the share price down 36% in that time.

Since its price has dipped substantially, Good Times Restaurants' price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 2.5x might make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the market in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 16x and even P/E's above 33x are quite common. However, the P/E might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Recent times have been quite advantageous for Good Times Restaurants as its earnings have been rising very briskly. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this strong earnings growth might actually underperform the broader market in the near future. 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.

View our latest analysis for Good Times Restaurants

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 Good Times Restaurants' earnings, revenue and cash flow.

How Is Good Times Restaurants' Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Good Times Restaurants would need to produce anemic growth that's substantially trailing the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 270% last year. However, the latest three year period hasn't been as great in aggregate as it didn't manage to provide any growth at all. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.

Weighing that recent medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 10% shows it's noticeably less attractive on an annualised basis.

In light of this, it's understandable that Good Times Restaurants' P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Bottom Line On Good Times Restaurants' P/E

Shares in Good Times Restaurants have plummeted and its P/E is now low enough to touch the ground. Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

We've established that Good Times Restaurants maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its recent three-year growth being lower than the wider market forecast, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Good Times Restaurants (1 is significant) you should be aware of.

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly and trade on P/E's below 20x.

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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.