When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 19x, you may consider Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG) as a highly attractive investment with its 4x P/E ratio. However, the P/E might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

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Scorpio Tankers hasn't been tracking well recently as its declining earnings compare poorly to other companies, which have seen some growth on average. It seems that many are expecting the dour earnings performance to persist, which has repressed the P/E. If you still 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 Scorpio Tankers

Keen to find out how analysts think Scorpio Tankers' future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

How Is Scorpio Tankers' Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far underperform the market for P/E ratios like Scorpio Tankers' 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 4.0%. Unfortunately, that's brought it right back to where it started three years ago with EPS growth being virtually non-existent overall during that time. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should bring diminished returns, with earnings decreasing 10% per annum as estimated by the eight analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the broader market is forecast to expand by 10% each year, which paints a poor picture.

In light of this, it's understandable that Scorpio Tankers' P/E would sit below the majority of other companies. However, shrinking earnings are unlikely to lead to a stable P/E over the longer term. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as the weak outlook is weighing down the shares.

The Final Word

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.

We've established that Scorpio Tankers maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its forecast for sliding earnings, as expected. 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.

Plus, you should also learn about these 3 warning signs we've spotted with Scorpio Tankers (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable).

You might be able to find a better investment than Scorpio Tankers. 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).

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.