The Market Lifts Kraton Corporation (NYSE:KRA) Shares 36% But It Can Do More

Kraton Corporation (NYSE:KRA) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 36% gain and recovering from prior weakness. But not all shareholders will be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down a very disappointing 41% in the last twelve months.

Although its price has surged higher, Kraton may still be sending very bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 3x, since almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios greater than 19x and even P/E's higher than 38x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

With earnings growth that's exceedingly strong of late, Kraton has been doing very well. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for Kraton

Want the full picture on earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on Kraton will help you shine a light on its historical performance.

How Is Kraton's Growth Trending?

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

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 75%. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 340% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Weighing that recent medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 5.4% shows it's noticeably more attractive on an annualised basis.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Kraton's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. Apparently some shareholders believe the recent performance has exceeded its limits and have been accepting significantly lower selling prices.

The Final Word

Shares in Kraton are going to need a lot more upward momentum to get the company's P/E out of its slump. Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

Our examination of Kraton revealed its three-year earnings trends aren't contributing to its P/E anywhere near as much as we would have predicted, given they look better than current market expectations. There could be some major unobserved threats to earnings preventing the P/E ratio from matching this positive performance. At least price risks look to be very low if recent medium-term earnings trends continue, but investors seem to think future earnings could see a lot of volatility.

Before you take the next step, you should know about the 3 warning signs for Kraton (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that we have uncovered.

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

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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