EOG Resources, Inc.'s (NYSE:EOG) Prospects Need A Boost To Lift Shares
When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 15x, you may consider EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) as an attractive investment with its 11.1x P/E ratio. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.
EOG Resources certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings more than most other companies. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. If not, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.
Check out our latest analysis for EOG Resources
If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on EOG Resources.
Is There Any Growth For EOG Resources?
In order to justify its P/E ratio, EOG Resources would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the market.
Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 146% last year. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 145% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.
Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings growth is heading into negative territory, declining 3.4% per annum over the next three years. With the market predicted to deliver 8.9% growth each year, that's a disappointing outcome.
With this information, we are not surprised that EOG Resources is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/E has reached a floor yet with earnings going in reverse. There's potential for the P/E to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its profitability.
The Bottom Line On EOG Resources' P/E
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.
As we suspected, our examination of EOG Resources' analyst forecasts revealed that its outlook for shrinking earnings is contributing to its low P/E. 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.
Having said that, be aware EOG Resources is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is a bit concerning.
If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly and trade on P/E's below 20x.
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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.
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