Century Communities, Inc.'s (NYSE:CCS) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 5.8x might make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the market in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 17x and even P/E's above 32x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so limited.

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Century Communities certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings more than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this strong earnings performance might be less impressive moving forward. If you 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.

View our latest analysis for Century Communities

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

Is There Any Growth For Century Communities?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Century Communities would need to produce anemic growth that's substantially trailing the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 30% last year. Despite this strong recent growth, it's still struggling to catch up as its three-year EPS frustratingly shrank by 27% overall. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 0.2% during the coming year according to the four analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 14%, which is noticeably more attractive.

With this information, we can see why Century Communities is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on while the company is potentially eyeing a less prosperous future.

The Key Takeaway

Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

As we suspected, our examination of Century Communities' analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook is contributing to its low P/E. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Having said that, be aware Century Communities is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is potentially serious.

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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