When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 19x, you may consider Playtika Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:PLTK) as an attractive investment with its 14.2x P/E ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

Playtika Holding 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. You'd much rather the company wasn't bleeding earnings if you still believe in the business. 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.

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/E?

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

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 30% decrease to the company's bottom line. As a result, earnings from three years ago have also fallen 28% overall. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 8.3% per year over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 10% each year growth forecast for the broader market.

In light of this, it's understandable that Playtika Holding's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Bottom Line On Playtika Holding's P/E

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.

We've established that Playtika Holding maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its forecast growth being lower than the wider market, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 4 warning signs for Playtika Holding (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should be aware of.

You might be able to find a better investment than Playtika Holding. 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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