The Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG) share price has fared very poorly over the last month, falling by a substantial 25%. The drop over the last 30 days has capped off a tough year for shareholders, with the share price down 42% in that time.

Even after such a large drop in price, Air Transport Services Group's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 13.2x might still 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 17x and even P/E's above 32x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

Recent times haven't been advantageous for Air Transport Services Group 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. If you still like the company, you'd want its earnings trajectory to turn around before making any decisions. 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.

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

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

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 67%. However, a few very strong years before that means that it was still able to grow EPS by an impressive 117% 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.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the six analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 24% per annum over the next three years. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 11% per annum, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this information, we find it odd that Air Transport Services 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 Final Word

Air Transport Services Group's P/E has taken a tumble along with its share price. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

We've established that Air Transport Services 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. It appears many are indeed anticipating earnings instability, because these conditions should normally provide a boost to the share price.

Plus, you should also learn about these 2 warning signs we've spotted with Air Transport Services Group (including 1 which is concerning).

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.