ICC Holdings, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ICCH) Prospects Need A Boost To Lift Shares

ICC Holdings, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ICCH) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 14.9x 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 19x and even P/E's above 37x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

ICC Holdings certainly has been doing a great job lately as it's been growing earnings at a really rapid pace. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this strong earnings growth might actually underperform the broader market in the near future. 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.

View our latest analysis for ICC Holdings

pe

We don't have analyst forecasts, but you can see how recent trends are setting up the company for the future by checking out our free report on ICC Holdings' earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Is There Any Growth For ICC Holdings?

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

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 106% gain to the company's bottom line. Still, incredibly EPS has fallen 2.2% in total from three years ago, which is quite disappointing. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the market is expected to grow by 5.4% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term earnings decline into perspective.

In light of this, it's understandable that ICC Holdings' P/E would sit below the majority of other companies. However, we think shrinking earnings are unlikely to lead to a stable P/E over the longer term, which could set up shareholders for future disappointment. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as recent earnings trends are already weighing down the shares.

The Bottom Line On ICC Holdings' P/E

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 ICC Holdings revealed its shrinking earnings over the medium-term are contributing to its low P/E, given the market is set to grow. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

It is also worth noting that we have found 2 warning signs for ICC Holdings (1 can't be ignored!) that you need to take into consideration.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20x).

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

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