P.C.B. Technologies Ltd (TLV:PCBT) shareholders have had their patience rewarded with a 25% share price jump in the last month. The last 30 days bring the annual gain to a very sharp 74%.
Following the firm bounce in price, P.C.B. Technologies' price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 24.6x might make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in Israel, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 16x and even P/E's below 11x 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.
P.C.B. Technologies certainly has been doing a great job lately as it's been growing earnings at a really rapid pace. 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. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.
View our latest analysis for P.C.B. Technologies
There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like P.C.B. Technologies' to be considered reasonable.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 110% gain to the company's bottom line. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 1,142% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. 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 23% over the next year, materially lower than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.
With this information, we can see why P.C.B. Technologies is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Presumably shareholders aren't keen to offload something they believe will continue to outmanoeuvre the bourse.
Shares in P.C.B. Technologies have built up some good momentum lately, which has really inflated its P/E. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.
As we suspected, our examination of P.C.B. Technologies revealed its three-year earnings trends are contributing to its high P/E, given they look better than current market expectations. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident earnings aren't under threat. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.
Before you take the next step, you should know about the 2 warning signs for P.C.B. Technologies that we have uncovered.
You might be able to find a better investment than P.C.B. Technologies. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).
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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.