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Bodycote plc's (LON:BOY) Popularity With Investors Is Clear

Bodycote plc's (LON:BOY) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 24.5x might make it look like a sell right now compared to the market in the United Kingdom, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 17x and even P/E's below 10x 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 lofty.

Recent times haven't been advantageous for Bodycote as its earnings have been falling quicker than most other companies. It might be that many expect the dismal earnings performance to recover substantially, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Check out our latest analysis for Bodycote

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If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Bodycote.

Does Growth Match The High P/E?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Bodycote would need to produce impressive growth in excess of the market.

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 55%. As a result, earnings from three years ago have also fallen 42% overall. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 25% each year during the coming three years according to the analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 15% per annum, which is noticeably less attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that Bodycote's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Final Word

Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

As we suspected, our examination of Bodycote's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 3 warning signs for Bodycote that you need to be mindful of.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20x).

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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