Some Shareholders Feeling Restless Over Philip Morris International Inc.'s (NYSE:PM) P/E Ratio

NYSE:PM) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 16.9x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the market in the United States, where the median P/E ratio is around 19x. While this might not raise any eyebrows, if the P/E ratio is not justified investors could be missing out on a potential opportunity or ignoring looming disappointment.” data-reactid=”28″>It’s not a stretch to say that Philip Morris International Inc.’s (NYSE:PM) price-to-earnings (or “P/E”) ratio of 16.9x right now seems quite “middle-of-the-road” compared to the market in the United States, where the median P/E ratio is around 19x. While this might not raise any eyebrows, if the P/E ratio is not justified investors could be missing out on a potential opportunity or ignoring looming disappointment.

Recent times haven’t been advantageous for Philip Morris International as its earnings have been falling quicker than most other companies. It might be that many expect the dismal earnings performance to revert back to market averages soon, which has kept the P/E from falling. If you still like the company, you’d want its earnings trajectory to turn around before making any decisions. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

See our latest analysis for Philip Morris International ” data-reactid=”30″> See our latest analysis for Philip Morris International

free report on Philip Morris International.” data-reactid=”47″>If you’d like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Philip Morris International.

How Is Philip Morris International’s Growth Trending?

The only time you’d be comfortable seeing a P/E like Philip Morris International’s is when the company’s growth is tracking the market closely.

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 6.9%. At least EPS has managed not to go completely backwards from three years ago in aggregate, thanks to the earlier period of growth. 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 three years should generate growth of 10% each year as estimated by the analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 13% each year, which is noticeably more attractive.

With this information, we find it interesting that Philip Morris International is trading at a fairly similar P/E to the market. Apparently many investors in the company are less bearish than analysts indicate and aren’t willing to let go of their stock right now. Maintaining these prices will be difficult to achieve as this level of earnings growth is likely to weigh down the shares eventually.

What We Can Learn From Philip Morris International’s P/E?

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.

Our examination of Philip Morris International’s analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook isn’t impacting its P/E as much as we would have predicted. Right now we are uncomfortable with the P/E as the predicted future earnings aren’t likely to support a more positive sentiment for long. This places shareholders’ investments at risk and potential investors in danger of paying an unnecessary premium.

3 warning signs for Philip Morris International that you should be aware of.” data-reactid=”56″>Before you settle on your opinion, we’ve discovered 3 warning signs for Philip Morris International that you should be aware of.

collection of other companies that sit on P/E’s below 20x and have grown earnings strongly.” data-reactid=”57″>Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Philip Morris International. 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.