When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 17x, you may consider Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) as a highly attractive investment with its 8.1x 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 haven't been advantageous for Star Bulk Carriers as its earnings have been falling quicker than most other companies. It seems that many are expecting the dismal earnings performance to persist, which has repressed the P/E. You'd much rather the company wasn't bleeding earnings if you still believe in the business. Or at the very least, you'd be hoping the earnings slide doesn't get any worse if your plan is to pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

See our latest analysis for Star Bulk Carriers

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/E?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far underperform the market for P/E ratios like Star Bulk Carriers' to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 57% 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 4,565% in total over the last three years. Although it's been a bumpy ride, it's still fair to say the earnings growth recently has been more than adequate for the company.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to slump, contracting by 12% during the coming year according to the five analysts following the company. That's not great when the rest of the market is expected to grow by 10%.

With this information, we are not surprised that Star Bulk Carriers is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/E has reached a floor yet with earnings going in reverse. There's potential for the P/E to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its profitability.

What We Can Learn From Star Bulk Carriers' P/E?

We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

We've established that Star Bulk Carriers maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its forecast for sliding earnings, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Star Bulk Carriers you should know about.

If you're unsure about the strength of Star Bulk Carriers' 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.