Lords Group Trading PLC's (LON:LORD) Price In Tune With Earnings

Simply Wall St
·3 min read

When close to half the companies in the United Kingdom have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 14x, you may consider Lords Group Trading PLC (LON:LORD) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 23.5x P/E ratio. However, the P/E might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Recent times have been advantageous for Lords Group Trading as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. It seems that many are expecting the strong earnings performance to persist, which has raised the P/E. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

See our latest analysis for Lords Group Trading

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Keen to find out how analysts think Lords Group Trading's future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

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

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as steep as Lords Group Trading's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market decidedly.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 92% last year. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 183% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 30% per year as estimated by the twin analysts watching the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 11% each year, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

With this information, we can see why Lords Group Trading is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Final Word

While the price-to-earnings ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of earnings expectations.

We've established that Lords Group Trading maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Having said that, be aware Lords Group Trading is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, you should know about.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Lords Group Trading. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that sit on P/E's below 20x and have grown earnings strongly.

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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.