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Little Excitement Around Baytex Energy Corp.'s (TSE:BTE) Earnings

Baytex Energy Corp.'s (TSE:BTE) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 4.4x might make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the market in Canada, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 11x and even P/E's above 25x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so limited.

While the market has experienced earnings growth lately, Baytex Energy's earnings have gone into reverse gear, which is not great. The P/E is probably low because investors think this poor earnings performance isn't going to get any better. If this is the case, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

See our latest analysis for Baytex Energy

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

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/E?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Baytex Energy would need to produce anemic growth that's substantially trailing the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 32% decrease to the company's bottom line. This has erased any of its gains during the last three years, with practically no change in EPS being achieved in total. Therefore, it's fair to say that earnings growth has been inconsistent recently for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the three analysts covering the company suggest earnings growth is heading into negative territory, declining 8.5% per annum over the next three years. Meanwhile, the broader market is forecast to expand by 8.1% per year, which paints a poor picture.

With this information, we are not surprised that Baytex Energy is trading at a P/E lower than the market. However, shrinking earnings are unlikely to lead to a stable P/E over the longer term. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as the weak outlook is weighing down the shares.

The Key Takeaway

It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

As we suspected, our examination of Baytex Energy's 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.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Baytex Energy you should know about.

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.

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

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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