American Financial Group, Inc.'s (NYSE:AFG) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 12.9x 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 19x 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.

Recent times have been advantageous for American Financial Group as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this strong earnings performance might be less impressive moving forward. If not, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

Is There Any Growth For American Financial Group?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as low as American Financial Group's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow earnings per share by a handy 5.0% last year. However, this wasn't enough as the latest three year period has seen an unpleasant 7.9% overall drop in EPS. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 7.0% as estimated by the six analysts watching the company. With the market predicted to deliver 15% growth , the company is positioned for a weaker earnings result.

With this information, we can see why American Financial Group is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on while the company is potentially eyeing a less prosperous future.

The Bottom Line On American Financial Group's P/E

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 American Financial Group's analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook is contributing to its low P/E. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - American Financial Group has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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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.