With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 11.1x Resimac Group Limited (ASX:RMC) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Australia have P/E ratios greater than 20x and even P/E's higher than 36x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Resimac Group hasn't been tracking well recently as its declining earnings compare poorly to other companies, which have seen some growth on average. The P/E is probably low because investors think this poor earnings performance isn't going to get any better. If you still 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Resimac Group

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Resimac Group.

Is There Any Growth For Resimac Group?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as low as Resimac Group's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 48%. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 67% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 28% each year during the coming three years according to the four analysts following the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 19% each year, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

With this information, we find it odd that Resimac Group is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Apparently some shareholders are doubtful of the forecasts and have been accepting significantly lower selling prices.

The Bottom Line On Resimac Group's P/E

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.

Our examination of Resimac Group's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook isn't contributing to its P/E anywhere near as much as we would have predicted. There could be some major unobserved threats to earnings preventing the P/E ratio from matching the positive outlook. At least price risks look to be very low, but investors seem to think future earnings could see a lot of volatility.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Resimac Group (1 is significant) you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on a low P/E.

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