Benign Growth For Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Berhad (KLSE:TAKAFUL) Underpins Its Share Price

Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Berhad's (KLSE:TAKAFUL) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 7.3x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the market in Malaysia, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 14x and even P/E's above 23x 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.

Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Berhad could be doing better as it's been growing earnings less than most other companies lately. It seems that many are expecting the uninspiring earnings performance to persist, which has repressed the P/E. If you still like the company, you'd be hoping earnings don't get any worse and that you could pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

View our latest analysis for Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Berhad

Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Berhad will help you uncover what's on the horizon.

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Berhad's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow earnings per share by a handy 11% last year. Although, the latest three year period in total hasn't been as good as it didn't manage to provide any growth at all. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing earnings over that time.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should bring diminished returns, with earnings decreasing 9.8% as estimated by the seven analysts watching the company. That's not great when the rest of the market is expected to grow by 8.2%.

In light of this, it's understandable that Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Berhad's P/E would sit below the majority of other companies. However, shrinking earnings are unlikely to lead to a stable P/E over the longer term. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as the weak outlook is weighing down the shares.

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.

As we suspected, our examination of Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Berhad's analyst forecasts revealed that its outlook for shrinking earnings is contributing to its low P/E. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Berhad you should know about.

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly and trade on P/E's below 20x.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

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