With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 14.2x Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios greater than 19x and even P/E's higher than 34x 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.

With earnings growth that's superior to most other companies of late, Target has been doing relatively well. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. 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.

Keen to find out how analysts think Target's 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?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the market for P/E ratios like Target's to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 19% last year. Despite this strong recent growth, it's still struggling to catch up as its three-year EPS frustratingly shrank by 30% overall. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 4.9% per annum as estimated by the analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 11% each year, which is noticeably more attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that Target's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on while the company is potentially eyeing a less prosperous future.

The Bottom Line On Target's 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 Target's 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. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - Target has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Target, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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.