With a median price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of close to 13x in Malaysia, you could be forgiven for feeling indifferent about MGB Berhad's (KLSE:MGB) P/E ratio of 12.8x. While this might not raise any eyebrows, if the P/E ratio is not justified investors could be missing out on a potential opportunity or ignoring looming disappointment.

MGB Berhad hasn't been tracking well recently as its declining earnings compare poorly to other companies, which have seen some growth on average. It might be that many expect the dour earnings performance to strengthen positively, which has kept the P/E from falling. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a relatively elevated price for a company with this sort of growth profile.

See our latest analysis for MGB Berhad

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

How Is MGB Berhad's Growth Trending?

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

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 16%. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 31% overall rise in EPS, in spite of its unsatisfying short-term performance. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would probably welcome the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 40% during the coming year according to the dual analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 8.7%, which is noticeably less attractive.

In light of this, it's curious that MGB Berhad's P/E sits in line with the majority of other companies. It may be that most investors aren't convinced the company can achieve future growth expectations.

The Bottom Line On MGB Berhad's P/E

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

We've established that MGB Berhad currently trades on a lower than expected P/E since its forecast growth is higher than the wider market. When we see a strong earnings outlook with faster-than-market growth, we assume potential risks are what might be placing pressure on the P/E ratio. At least the risk of a price drop looks to be subdued, but investors seem to think future earnings could see some volatility.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with MGB Berhad (at least 1 which is potentially serious), and understanding them should be part of your investment process.