Yahoo Finance Market Participants Recognise John Wood Group PLC's (LON:WG.) Earnings
When close to half the companies in the United Kingdom have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 17x, you may consider John Wood Group PLC (LON:WG.) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 40.3x 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 so lofty.
With earnings that are retreating more than the market's of late, John Wood Group has been very sluggish. It might be that many expect the dismal earnings performance to recover substantially, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.
Check out our latest analysis for John Wood Group
If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on John Wood Group.
Does Growth Match The High P/E?
John Wood Group's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 26% decrease to the company's bottom line. This has erased any of its gains during the last three years, with practically no change in EPS being achieved in total. Therefore, it's fair to say that earnings growth has been inconsistent recently for the company.
Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 68% each year over the next three years. With the market only predicted to deliver 15% per year, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.
In light of this, it's understandable that John Wood Group's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.
The Final Word
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 John Wood Group maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.
Plus, you should also learn about these 2 warning signs we've spotted with John Wood Group (including 1 which doesn't sit too well with us).
You might be able to find a better investment than John Wood Group. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20x (but have proven they can grow earnings).
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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