Northern Technologies International Corporation (NASDAQ:NTIC) shareholders have had their patience rewarded with a 29% share price jump in the last month.    The last 30 days bring the annual gain to a very sharp 52%.  

After such a large jump in price, given close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 16x, you may consider Northern Technologies International as a stock to avoid entirely with its 35.7x P/E ratio.  Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.  

Recent times have been pleasing for Northern Technologies International as its earnings have risen in spite of the market's earnings going into reverse.   The P/E is probably high because investors think the company will continue to navigate the broader market headwinds better than most.  You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.    

NasdaqGM:NTIC Price to Earnings Ratio vs Industry April 26th 2024

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Northern Technologies International.

Is There Enough Growth For Northern Technologies International?  

Northern Technologies International's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.  

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 77% last year.    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.  

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 68%  as estimated by the one analyst watching the company.  Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 12%, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this information, we can see why Northern Technologies International is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market.  It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.  

What We Can Learn From Northern Technologies International's P/E?

The strong share price surge has got Northern Technologies International's P/E rushing to great heights as well.      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.

As we suspected, our examination of Northern Technologies International's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E.  At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio.  Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.    

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 1 warning sign for Northern Technologies International that you need to be mindful of.  

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).

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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.