When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 18x, you may consider Otter Tail Corporation (NASDAQ:OTTR) as an attractive investment with its 11.3x 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 limited.

There hasn't been much to differentiate Otter Tail's and the market's earnings growth lately. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this modest earnings performance may begin to slide. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

View our latest analysis for Otter Tail

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

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

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

Taking a look back first, we see that there was hardly any earnings per share growth to speak of for the company over the past year. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 69% overall rise in EPS, in spite of its uninspiring short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the two analysts covering the company suggest earnings growth is heading into negative territory, declining 11% per annum over the next three years. With the market predicted to deliver 11% growth per year, that's a disappointing outcome.

In light of this, it's understandable that Otter Tail's P/E would sit below the majority of other companies. However, shrinking earnings are unlikely to lead to a stable P/E over the longer term. There's potential for the P/E to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its profitability.

The Bottom Line On Otter Tail's P/E

It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

We've established that Otter Tail maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its forecast for sliding earnings, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Having said that, be aware Otter Tail is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is a bit concerning.

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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