Shengfeng Development Limited (NASDAQ:SFWL) shareholders that were waiting for something to happen have been dealt a blow with a 38% share price drop in the last month.    The recent drop completes a disastrous twelve months for shareholders, who are sitting on a 89% loss during that time.  

Although its price has dipped substantially, Shengfeng Development may still be sending bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 8.8x, since almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios greater than 18x and even P/E's higher than 32x are not unusual.  Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/E.  

The earnings growth achieved at Shengfeng Development over the last year would be more than acceptable for most companies.   It might be that many expect the respectable 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.    

NasdaqCM:SFWL Price to Earnings Ratio vs Industry June 6th 2024

Want the full picture on earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on Shengfeng Development will help you shine a light on its historical performance.  

Is There Any Growth For Shengfeng Development?  

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

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 29%.   Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 64% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth.  Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.  

This is in contrast to the rest of the market, which is expected to grow by 13% over the next year, materially lower than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Shengfeng Development's P/E sits below the majority of other companies.  Apparently some shareholders believe the recent performance has exceeded its limits and have been accepting significantly lower selling prices.  

The Key Takeaway

The softening of Shengfeng Development's shares means its P/E is now sitting at a pretty low level.      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.

We've established that Shengfeng Development currently trades on a much lower than expected P/E since its recent three-year growth is higher than the wider market forecast.  When we see strong earnings 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 if recent medium-term earnings trends continue, but investors seem to think future earnings could see a lot of volatility.    

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 2 warning signs for Shengfeng Development that you need to be mindful 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.