Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) Not Lagging Market On Growth Or Pricing
Celanese Corporation's (NYSE:CE) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 21.3x might make it look like a sell right now compared to the market in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 18x and even P/E's below 9x are quite common. However, the P/E might be high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.
With earnings that are retreating more than the market's of late, Celanese has been very sluggish. It might be that many expect the dismal earnings performance to recover substantially, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.
Check out our latest analysis for Celanese
If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Celanese.
Does Growth Match The High P/E?
Celanese's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver solid growth, and importantly, perform better than the market.
Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 34%. As a result, earnings from three years ago have also fallen 10% overall. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing earnings over that time.
Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 19% per annum over the next three years. With the market only predicted to deliver 13% per year, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.
In light of this, it's understandable that Celanese's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.
The Bottom Line On Celanese's P/E
While the price-to-earnings ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of earnings expectations.
We've established that Celanese maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.
It is also worth noting that we have found 2 warning signs for Celanese that you need to take into consideration.
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 P/E ratio below 20x).
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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