Mr. Cooper Group Inc.'s (NASDAQ:COOP) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 12.1x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the market in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 20x and even P/E's above 35x are quite common. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Mr. Cooper Group certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings more 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?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Mr. Cooper Group would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 19% gain to the company's bottom line. However, this wasn't enough as the latest three year period has seen a very unpleasant 53% drop in EPS in aggregate. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the six analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 28% per annum over the next three years. With the market only predicted to deliver 11% per year, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

With this information, we find it odd that Mr. Cooper Group is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Apparently some shareholders are doubtful of the forecasts and have been accepting significantly lower selling prices.

The Key Takeaway

It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

We've established that Mr. Cooper Group currently trades on a much lower than expected P/E since its forecast growth is higher than the wider market. When we see a strong earnings outlook with faster-than-market growth, we assume potential risks are what might be placing significant pressure on the P/E ratio. At least price risks look to be very low, but investors seem to think future earnings could see a lot of volatility.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Mr. Cooper Group that you should be aware of.

If you're unsure about the strength of Mr. Cooper Group'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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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.