There wouldn't be many who think DTE Energy Company's (NYSE:DTE) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 16.5x is worth a mention when the median P/E in the United States is similar at about 18x. 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 DTE Energy as its earnings have risen in spite of the market's earnings going into reverse. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to deteriorate like the rest, which has kept the P/E from rising. If not, then existing shareholders have reason to be feeling optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on DTE Energy.

How Is DTE Energy's Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should be matching the market for P/E ratios like DTE Energy's to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 22% last year. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 103% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 3.6% each year during the coming three years according to the analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 11% per year, which is noticeably more attractive.

With this information, we find it interesting that DTE Energy is trading at a fairly similar P/E to the market. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited growth expectations and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. These shareholders may be setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.

The Final Word

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.

We've established that DTE Energy currently trades on a higher than expected P/E since its forecast growth is lower than the wider market. When we see a weak earnings outlook with slower than market growth, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, sending the moderate P/E lower. This places shareholders' investments at risk and potential investors in danger of paying an unnecessary premium.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for DTE Energy (of which 1 is a bit unpleasant!) 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 low P/E).

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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.