When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 19x, you may consider Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) as an attractive investment with its 12.3x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/E.

With earnings growth that's superior to most other companies of late, Matson has been doing relatively well. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

Is There Any Growth For Matson?

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

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 39% last year. Still, incredibly EPS has fallen 13% in total from three years ago, which is quite disappointing. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the three analysts covering the company suggest earnings growth is heading into negative territory, declining 10% over the next year. Meanwhile, the broader market is forecast to expand by 15%, which paints a poor picture.

In light of this, it's understandable that Matson'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. There's potential for the P/E to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its profitability.

The Final Word

We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

We've established that Matson maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its forecast for sliding earnings, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Plus, you should also learn about these 2 warning signs we've spotted with Matson (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable).

You might be able to find a better investment than Matson. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.