When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 17x, you may consider Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE:RS) as an attractive investment with its 11.1x P/E ratio. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Recent times haven't been advantageous for Reliance Steel & Aluminum as its earnings have been falling quicker than most other companies. The P/E is probably low because investors think this poor earnings performance isn't going to improve at all. If you still like the company, you'd want its earnings trajectory to turn around before making any decisions. If not, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for Reliance Steel & Aluminum

How Is Reliance Steel & Aluminum's Growth Trending?

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

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 23%. However, a few very strong years before that means that it was still able to grow EPS by an impressive 295% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would probably welcome the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should bring diminished returns, with earnings decreasing 11% per annum as estimated by the seven analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the broader market is forecast to expand by 12% each year, which paints a poor picture.

In light of this, it's understandable that Reliance Steel & Aluminum's P/E would sit below the majority of other companies. However, shrinking earnings are unlikely to lead to a stable P/E over the longer term. There's potential for the P/E to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its profitability.

The Final Word

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 Reliance Steel & Aluminum 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. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Plus, you should also learn about these 2 warning signs we've spotted with Reliance Steel & Aluminum (including 1 which is potentially serious).

You might be able to find a better investment than Reliance Steel & Aluminum. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.