Yahoo Finance Some Confidence Is Lacking In BATM Advanced Communications Ltd.'s (LON:BVC) P/E
With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 54.8x BATM Advanced Communications Ltd. (LON:BVC) may be sending very bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in the United Kingdom have P/E ratios under 25x and even P/E's lower than 13x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.
Recent times have been advantageous for BATM Advanced Communications as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. It seems that many are expecting the strong earnings performance to persist, which has raised the P/E. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.
Check out our latest analysis for BATM Advanced Communications
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Is There Enough Growth For BATM Advanced Communications?
In order to justify its P/E ratio, BATM Advanced Communications would need to produce outstanding growth well in excess of the market.
If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 139%. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 3,755% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.
Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 5.3% per year as estimated by the one analyst watching the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 18% each year, which is noticeably more attractive.
In light of this, it's alarming that BATM Advanced Communications' P/E sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than analysts indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. There's a good chance these shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.
The Final Word
Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.
Our examination of BATM Advanced Communications' analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook isn't impacting its high P/E anywhere near as much as we would have predicted. Right now we are increasingly uncomfortable with the high P/E as the predicted future earnings aren't likely to support such positive sentiment for long. This places shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.
The company's balance sheet is another key area for risk analysis. You can assess many of the main risks through our free balance sheet analysis for BATM Advanced Communications with six simple checks.
If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly and trade on P/E's below 20x.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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