UP Fintech Holding Limited (NASDAQ:TIGR) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 25% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. Looking back over the past twelve months the stock has been a solid performer regardless, with a gain of 18%.
Since its price has dipped substantially, UP Fintech Holding may be sending very bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 9.6x, since almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios greater than 20x and even P/E's higher than 34x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/E.
UP Fintech Holding certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings more than most other companies. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. If not, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.
Check out our latest analysis for UP Fintech Holding
There's an inherent assumption that a company should far underperform the market for P/E ratios like UP Fintech Holding's to be considered reasonable.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 346% gain to the company's bottom line. Although, its longer-term performance hasn't been as strong with three-year EPS growth being relatively non-existent overall. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.
Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 8.7% per year during the coming three years according to the seven analysts following the company. With the market predicted to deliver 12% growth each year, the company is positioned for a weaker earnings result.
In light of this, it's understandable that UP Fintech Holding's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.
Shares in UP Fintech Holding have plummeted and its P/E is now low enough to touch the ground. 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.
As we suspected, our examination of UP Fintech Holding's analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook is contributing to its low P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.
A lot of potential risks can sit within a company's balance sheet. Our free balance sheet analysis for UP Fintech Holding with six simple checks will allow you to discover any risks that could be an issue.
You might be able to find a better investment than UP Fintech Holding. 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.