Tobila Systems Inc. (TSE:4441) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 25% after a shaky period beforehand. The last 30 days bring the annual gain to a very sharp 55%.
Following the firm bounce in price, given around half the companies in Japan have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 14x, you may consider Tobila Systems as a stock to potentially avoid with its 19.9x P/E ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's as high as it is.
Earnings have risen at a steady rate over the last year for Tobila Systems, which is generally not a bad outcome. It might be that many expect the reasonable earnings performance to beat most other companies over the coming period, which has increased investors’ willingness to pay up for the stock. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.
Check out our latest analysis for Tobila Systems
The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as high as Tobila Systems' is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 6.8% gain to the company's bottom line. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 102% overall rise in EPS, aided somewhat by its short-term performance. 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 9.0% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is stronger based on recent medium-term annualised earnings results.
With this information, we can see why Tobila Systems is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. It seems most investors are expecting this strong growth to continue and are willing to pay more for the stock.
Tobila Systems' P/E is getting right up there since its shares have risen strongly. 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 Tobila Systems 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. Unless the recent medium-term conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.
Having said that, be aware Tobila Systems is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis, you should know about.
You might be able to find a better investment than Tobila Systems. 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.