Market Participants Recognise Endeavour Mining plc's (TSE:EDV) Earnings

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 27.6x Endeavour Mining plc (TSE:EDV) may be sending very bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Canada have P/E ratios under 13x and even P/E's lower than 6x are not unusual. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

Recent times haven't been advantageous for Endeavour Mining as its earnings have been rising slower than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think this lacklustre earnings performance will improve markedly. If not, then existing shareholders may be very nervous about the viability of the share price.

See our latest analysis for Endeavour Mining

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Keen to find out how analysts think Endeavour Mining'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 Endeavour Mining's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market decidedly.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 32% gain to the company's bottom line. Although, its longer-term performance hasn't been as strong with three-year EPS growth being relatively non-existent overall. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the twelve analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 37% per year over the next three years. With the market only predicted to deliver 13% per year, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

In light of this, it's understandable that Endeavour Mining's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

The Key Takeaway

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 Endeavour Mining 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. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Endeavour Mining you should know about.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Endeavour Mining, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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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.