When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 17x, you may consider Tecnoglass Inc. (NYSE:TGLS) as an attractive investment with its 12.2x P/E ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

Recent times haven't been advantageous for Tecnoglass as its earnings have been falling quicker than most other companies. The P/E is probably low because investors think this poor earnings performance isn't going to improve at all. If you still like the company, you'd want its earnings trajectory to turn around before making any decisions. If not, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

Keen to find out how analysts think Tecnoglass' future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

How Is Tecnoglass' Growth Trending?

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

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 9.6%. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 222% overall rise in EPS, in spite of its unsatisfying short-term performance. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would probably welcome the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the six analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 8.3% each year over the next three years. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 9.9% per annum, which is not materially different.

With this information, we find it odd that Tecnoglass is trading at a P/E lower than the market. It may be that most investors are not convinced the company can achieve future growth expectations.

The Final Word

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

Our examination of Tecnoglass' analyst forecasts revealed that its market-matching earnings outlook isn't contributing to its P/E as much as we would have predicted. There could be some unobserved threats to earnings preventing the P/E ratio from matching the outlook. At least the risk of a price drop looks to be subdued, but investors seem to think future earnings could see some volatility.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Tecnoglass that you should be aware of.

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com