Investors Appear Satisfied With Vishay Precision Group, Inc.'s (NYSE:VPG) Prospects As Shares Rocket 27%

Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE:VPG) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 27% gain and recovering from prior weakness. The last 30 days bring the annual gain to a very sharp 67%.

Following the firm bounce in price, Vishay Precision Group's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 64.9x might make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 19x and even P/E's below 11x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

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While the market has experienced earnings growth lately, Vishay Precision Group's earnings have gone into reverse gear, which is not great. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think this poor earnings performance will turn the corner. If not, then existing shareholders may be extremely nervous about the viability of the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for Vishay Precision Group

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

Vishay Precision Group's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 40%. As a result, earnings from three years ago have also fallen 75% overall. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the three analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 51% over the next year. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 16% growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we can see why Vishay Precision Group is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Final Word

Vishay Precision Group's P/E is flying high just like its stock has during the last month. 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 Vishay Precision Group's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Vishay Precision Group that you should be aware of.

If you're unsure about the strength of Vishay Precision Group's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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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.