With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 14.8x Felix Industries Limited (NSE:FELIX) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in India have P/E ratios greater than 26x and even P/E's higher than 50x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.
Felix Industries certainly has been doing a great job lately as it's been growing earnings at a really rapid pace. 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 that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.
See our latest analysis for Felix Industries
There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the market for P/E ratios like Felix Industries' to be considered reasonable.
Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 130% last year. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 245% 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.
Comparing that to the market, which is only predicted to deliver 25% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is stronger based on recent medium-term annualised earnings results.
With this information, we find it odd that Felix Industries is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Apparently some shareholders believe the recent performance has exceeded its limits and have been accepting significantly lower selling prices.
We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.
We've established that Felix Industries currently trades on a much lower than expected P/E since its recent three-year growth is higher than the wider market forecast. There could be some major unobserved threats to earnings preventing the P/E ratio from matching this positive performance. At least price risks look to be very low if recent medium-term earnings trends continue, but investors seem to think future earnings could see a lot of volatility.
And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Felix Industries (of which 1 is a bit concerning!) you should know about.
You might be able to find a better investment than Felix Industries. 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.