Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) Looks Just Right With A 25% Price Jump

Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 25% gain and recovering from prior weakness. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 12% over that time.

After such a large jump in price, Benchmark Electronics' price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 43.1x might make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 18x and even P/E's below 10x 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 so lofty.

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Benchmark Electronics 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 recover substantially, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

See our latest analysis for Benchmark Electronics

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Benchmark Electronics.

Does Growth Match The High P/E?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like Benchmark Electronics' to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 40%. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 38% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 45% during the coming year according to the three analysts following the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 16%, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

With this information, we can see why Benchmark Electronics is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Bottom Line On Benchmark Electronics' P/E

The strong share price surge has got Benchmark Electronics' P/E rushing to great heights as well. We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

As we suspected, our examination of Benchmark Electronics' analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

It is also worth noting that we have found 2 warning signs for Benchmark Electronics that you need to take into consideration.

You might be able to find a better investment than Benchmark Electronics. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).