Market Participants Recognise Quanta Services, Inc.'s (NYSE:PWR) Earnings
With a median price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of close to 19x in the United States, you could be forgiven for feeling indifferent about Quanta Services, Inc.'s (NYSE:PWR) P/E ratio of 18.9x. 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 have been pleasing for Quanta Services as its earnings have risen in spite of the market's earnings going into reverse. One possibility is that the P/E is moderate because investors think the company's earnings will be less resilient moving forward. If not, then existing shareholders have reason to be feeling optimistic about the future direction of the share price.
View our latest analysis for Quanta Services
Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on Quanta Services will help you uncover what's on the horizon.
How Is Quanta Services' Growth Trending?
The only time you'd be comfortable seeing a P/E like Quanta Services' is when the company's growth is tracking the market closely.
If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a worthy increase of 15%. This was backed up an excellent period prior to see EPS up by 44% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.
Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 14% per annum as estimated by the eight analysts watching the company. With the market predicted to deliver 13% growth per year, the company is positioned for a comparable earnings result.
In light of this, it's understandable that Quanta Services' P/E sits in line with the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see average future growth and are only willing to pay a moderate amount for the stock.
What We Can Learn From Quanta Services' P/E?
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 Quanta Services' analyst forecasts revealed that its market-matching earnings outlook is contributing to its current P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement or deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a high or low P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.
Having said that, be aware Quanta Services is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis, you should know about.
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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
