With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 12x Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios greater than 18x and even P/E's higher than 32x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

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Recent times have been advantageous for Principal Financial Group as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. If not, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

See our latest analysis for Principal Financial Group

Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on Principal Financial Group will help you uncover what's on the horizon.

How Is Principal Financial Group's Growth Trending?

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

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 162% last year. EPS has also lifted 19% in aggregate from three years ago, mostly thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably been satisfied with the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the nine analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 14% per annum over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 11% each year growth forecast for the broader market.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Principal Financial Group's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It looks like most investors are not convinced at all that the company can achieve future growth expectations.

What We Can Learn From Principal Financial Group's P/E?

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

We've established that Principal Financial Group currently trades on a much lower than expected P/E since its forecast growth is higher than the wider market. When we see a strong earnings outlook with faster-than-market growth, we assume potential risks are what might be placing significant pressure on the P/E ratio. It appears many are indeed anticipating earnings instability, because these conditions should normally provide a boost to the share price.

Many other vital risk factors can be found on the company's balance sheet. Our free balance sheet analysis for Principal Financial Group with six simple checks will allow you to discover any risks that could be an issue.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.