With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 15x Saudi Steel Pipes Company (TADAWUL:1320) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Saudi Arabia have P/E ratios greater than 23x and even P/E's higher than 40x are not unusual. 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 Saudi Steel Pipes as its earnings have been rising slower than most other companies. The P/E is probably low because investors think this lacklustre 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.

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

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

Saudi Steel Pipes' P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 4.2% gain to the company's bottom line. Still, EPS has barely risen at all in aggregate from three years ago, which is not ideal. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing earnings over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the lone analyst covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 10% each year over the next three years. With the market predicted to deliver 13% growth per year, the company is positioned for a weaker earnings result.

In light of this, it's understandable that Saudi Steel Pipes' P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

What We Can Learn From Saudi Steel Pipes' P/E?

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 Saudi Steel Pipes' analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook 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.

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.