The Shipping Corporation of India Limited's (NSE:SCI) Earnings Are Not Doing Enough For Some Investors
With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 12x The Shipping Corporation of India Limited (NSE:SCI) may be sending very 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 49x are not unusual. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so limited.
As an illustration, earnings have deteriorated at Shipping Corporation of India over the last year, which is not ideal at all. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think the company won't do enough to avoid underperforming the broader market in the near future. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.
See our latest analysis for Shipping Corporation of India
How Is Shipping Corporation of India's Growth Trending?
There's an inherent assumption that a company should far underperform the market for P/E ratios like Shipping Corporation of India's to be considered reasonable.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 21% decrease to the company's bottom line. This has soured the latest three-year period, which nevertheless managed to deliver a decent 15% overall rise in EPS. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would be roughly satisfied with the medium-term rates of earnings growth.
This is in contrast to the rest of the market, which is expected to grow by 25% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.
In light of this, it's understandable that Shipping Corporation of India's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.
What We Can Learn From Shipping Corporation of India's P/E?
Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.
As we suspected, our examination of Shipping Corporation of India revealed its three-year earnings trends are contributing to its low P/E, given they look worse than current market expectations. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.
There are also other vital risk factors to consider before investing and we've discovered 1 warning sign for Shipping Corporation of India that you should be aware of.
It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).
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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.