When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 19x, you may consider Globe Life Inc. (NYSE:GL) as a highly attractive investment with its 8.4x 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 so limited.

Recent times have been advantageous for Globe Life as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

Globe Life'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.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 21% gain to the company's bottom line. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 74% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 10.0% per year as estimated by the eight analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 11% per annum, which is not materially different.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Globe Life's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It may be that most investors are not convinced the company can achieve future growth expectations.

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 Globe Life currently trades on a lower than expected P/E since its forecast growth is in line with the wider market. When we see an average earnings outlook with market-like growth, we assume potential risks are what might be placing pressure on the P/E ratio. At least the risk of a price drop looks to be subdued, but investors seem to think future earnings could see some volatility.

Before you take the next step, you should know about the 1 warning sign for Globe Life that we have uncovered.

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.