When close to half the companies in India have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 26x, you may consider Upsurge Seeds Of Agriculture Limited (NSE:USASEEDS) as an attractive investment with its 17.2x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/E.
Earnings have risen firmly for Upsurge Seeds Of Agriculture recently, which is pleasing to see. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this respectable earnings growth might actually underperform the broader market in the near future. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be optimistic about the future direction of the share price.
View our latest analysis for Upsurge Seeds Of Agriculture
In order to justify its P/E ratio, Upsurge Seeds Of Agriculture would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the market.
If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 21%. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 55% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.
Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 25% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is weaker based on recent medium-term annualised earnings results.
In light of this, it's understandable that Upsurge Seeds Of Agriculture's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on to something they believe will continue to trail the bourse.
Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.
We've established that Upsurge Seeds Of Agriculture maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its recent three-year growth being lower than the wider market forecast, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.
We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 3 warning signs for Upsurge Seeds Of Agriculture that you need to be mindful of.
If you're unsure about the strength of Upsurge Seeds Of Agriculture'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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