Datatec Limited's (JSE:DTC) Share Price Is Still Matching Investor Opinion Despite 28% Slump

The Datatec Limited (JSE:DTC) share price has fared very poorly over the last month, falling by a substantial 28%. Instead of being rewarded, shareholders who have already held through the last twelve months are now sitting on a 19% share price drop.

In spite of the heavy fall in price, Datatec may still be sending very bearish signals at the moment with a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 13x, since almost half of all companies in South Africa have P/E ratios under 8x and even P/E's lower than 5x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

Recent times have been advantageous for Datatec as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. It seems that many are expecting the strong earnings performance to persist, which has raised the P/E. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

View our latest analysis for Datatec

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

How Is Datatec's Growth Trending?

Datatec's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 220% gain to the company's bottom line. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 585% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 23% per year as estimated by the only analyst watching the company. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 5.9% each year growth forecast for the broader market.

In light of this, it's understandable that Datatec's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

What We Can Learn From Datatec's P/E?

Datatec's shares may have retreated, but its P/E is still flying high. 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.

As we suspected, our examination of Datatec's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 6 warning signs for Datatec (1 is potentially serious) you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on a P/E below 20x.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

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