When close to half the companies in Singapore have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 11x, you may consider A-Sonic Aerospace Limited (SGX:BTJ) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 28.2x 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.

For instance, A-Sonic Aerospace's receding earnings in recent times would have to be some food for thought. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think the company will still do enough to outperform the broader market in the near future. If not, then existing shareholders may be quite nervous about the viability of the share price.

View our latest analysis for A-Sonic Aerospace

Want the full picture on earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on A-Sonic Aerospace will help you shine a light on its historical performance.

How Is A-Sonic Aerospace's Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, A-Sonic Aerospace would need to produce outstanding growth well in excess of the market.

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 46%. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 85% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the market is expected to grow by 7.7% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term earnings decline into perspective.

In light of this, it's alarming that A-Sonic Aerospace's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the recent poor growth rate and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. There's a very good chance existing shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with the recent negative growth rates.

The Bottom Line On A-Sonic Aerospace'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.

We've established that A-Sonic Aerospace currently trades on a much higher than expected P/E since its recent earnings have been in decline over the medium-term. Right now we are increasingly uncomfortable with the high P/E as this earnings performance is highly unlikely to support such positive sentiment for long. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve markedly, it's very challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 5 warning signs for A-Sonic Aerospace you should be aware of, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored.

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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