Benign Growth For Pine Cliff Energy Ltd. (TSE:PNE) Underpins Its Share Price

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 4.4x Pine Cliff Energy Ltd. (TSE:PNE) may be sending very bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Canada have P/E ratios greater than 11x and even P/E's higher than 25x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Pine Cliff Energy certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings more 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.

View our latest analysis for Pine Cliff Energy

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How Is Pine Cliff Energy's Growth Trending?

Pine Cliff Energy's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very poor growth or even falling earnings, and importantly, perform much worse than the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 28%. Although, its longer-term performance hasn't been as strong with three-year EPS growth being relatively non-existent overall. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the lone analyst covering the company suggest earnings growth is heading into negative territory, declining 71% over the next year. Meanwhile, the broader market is forecast to expand by 6.3%, which paints a poor picture.

In light of this, it's understandable that Pine Cliff Energy'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 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.

We've established that Pine Cliff Energy 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. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Before you take the next step, you should know about the 2 warning signs for Pine Cliff Energy that we have uncovered.

If you're unsure about the strength of Pine Cliff Energy's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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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.

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