When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 19x, you may consider Century Communities, Inc. (NYSE:CCS) as a highly attractive investment with its 7.3x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/E.

Recent times have been advantageous for Century Communities as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this strong earnings performance might be less impressive moving forward. If not, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

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

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

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

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 31% gain to the company's bottom line. Still, incredibly EPS has fallen 19% in total from three years ago, which is quite disappointing. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 17% as estimated by the five analysts watching the company. With the market predicted to deliver 15% growth , the company is positioned for a comparable earnings result.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Century Communities' P/E sits below the majority of other companies. Apparently some shareholders are doubtful of the forecasts and have been accepting lower selling prices.

The Final Word

While the price-to-earnings ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of earnings expectations.

We've established that Century Communities currently trades on a lower than expected P/E since its forecast growth is in line with the wider market. 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.

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.

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.