Investors Continue Waiting On Sidelines For Loews Corporation (NYSE:L)

When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 20x, you may consider Loews Corporation (NYSE:L) as an attractive investment with its 14.9x 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.

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For instance, Loews' receding earnings in recent times would have to be some food for thought. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think the company won't do enough to avoid underperforming the broader market in the near future. However, if this doesn't eventuate then existing shareholders may be feeling optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for Loews

Although there are no analyst estimates available for Loews, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.

How Is Loews' Growth Trending?

Loews' P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 9.1% decrease to the company's bottom line. However, a few very strong years before that means that it was still able to grow EPS by an impressive 114% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a very good job of growing earnings over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Comparing that to the market, which is only predicted to deliver 16% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is stronger based on recent medium-term annualised earnings results.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Loews' P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It looks like most investors are not convinced the company can maintain its recent growth rates.

The Final Word

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.

Our examination of Loews revealed its three-year earnings trends aren't contributing to its P/E anywhere near as much as we would have predicted, given they look better than current market expectations. There could be some major unobserved threats to earnings preventing the P/E ratio from matching this positive performance. It appears many are indeed anticipating earnings instability, because the persistence of these recent medium-term conditions would normally provide a boost to the share price.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Loews, and understanding should be part of your investment process.

If you're unsure about the strength of Loews' 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.