Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) share price has dived 26% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. The recent drop completes a disastrous twelve months for shareholders, who are sitting on a 59% loss during that time.

Following the heavy fall in price, Herbalife may be sending very bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 5.8x, since almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios greater than 17x 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 highly reduced P/E.

Herbalife has been struggling lately as its earnings have declined faster 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.

Is There Any Growth For Herbalife?

Herbalife's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very poor growth or even falling earnings, and importantly, perform much worse than the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 56%. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk EPS by 49% in aggregate. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 42% during the coming year according to the five analysts following the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 12%, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Herbalife's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. Apparently some shareholders are doubtful of the forecasts and have been accepting significantly lower selling prices.

What We Can Learn From Herbalife's P/E?

Herbalife's P/E looks about as weak as its stock price lately. 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.

Our examination of Herbalife's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook isn't contributing to its P/E anywhere near as much as we would have predicted. 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. At least price risks look to be very low, but investors seem to think future earnings could see a lot of volatility.

Plus, you should also learn about these 5 warning signs we've spotted with Herbalife (including 2 which are significant).

You might be able to find a better investment than Herbalife. 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.