When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 18x, you may consider The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE:GBX) as an attractive investment with its 14.7x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/E.

With its earnings growth in positive territory compared to the declining earnings of most other companies, Greenbrier Companies has been doing quite well of late. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think the company's earnings are going to fall away like everyone else's soon. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

Check out our latest analysis for Greenbrier Companies

Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on Greenbrier Companies will help you uncover what's on the horizon.

Is There Any Growth For Greenbrier Companies?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Greenbrier Companies 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 488% last year. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 271% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 13% as estimated by the five analysts watching the company. That's shaping up to be similar to the 11% growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we find it odd that Greenbrier Companies is trading at a P/E lower than the market. It may be that most investors are not convinced the company can achieve future growth expectations.

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.

Our examination of Greenbrier Companies' analyst forecasts revealed that its market-matching earnings outlook isn't contributing to its P/E as much as we would have predicted. 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.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 3 warning signs for Greenbrier Companies you should be aware of, and 1 of them makes us a bit uncomfortable.

You might be able to find a better investment than Greenbrier Companies. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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.