Amcor plc's (NYSE:AMCR) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 14.5x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the market in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 17x and even P/E's above 33x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/E.

Amcor certainly has been doing a good job lately as its earnings growth has been positive while most other companies have been seeing their earnings go backwards. 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 Amcor

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Is There Any Growth For Amcor?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Amcor would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 19% gain to the company's bottom line. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 42% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 4.9% per year during the coming three years according to the analysts following the company. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 13% per year growth forecast for the broader market.

In light of this, it's understandable that Amcor's 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 Amcor'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 Amcor's analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook is contributing to its low P/E. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider and we've discovered 2 warning signs for Amcor (1 is significant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Amcor, 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.