With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 17.9x United Company RUSAL, International Public Joint-Stock Company (HKG:486) may be sending very bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Hong Kong have P/E ratios under 10x and even P/E's lower than 6x 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.

While the market has experienced earnings growth lately, United Company RUSAL International's earnings have gone into reverse gear, which is not great. It might be that many expect the dour 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.

See our latest analysis for United Company RUSAL International

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on United Company RUSAL International.

Does Growth Match The High P/E?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, United Company RUSAL International would need to produce outstanding growth well in excess of the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 20%. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk EPS by 85% in aggregate. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 75% per annum as estimated by the only analyst watching the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 12% per annum, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

With this information, we can see why United Company RUSAL International is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Bottom Line On United Company RUSAL International's P/E

Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

As we suspected, our examination of United Company RUSAL International's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider and we've discovered 2 warning signs for United Company RUSAL International (1 is concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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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