With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 13.1x United Parks & Resorts Inc. (NYSE:PRKS) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios greater than 19x and even P/E's higher than 35x are not unusual. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

While the market has experienced earnings growth lately, United Parks & Resorts' earnings have gone into reverse gear, which is not great. 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.

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

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

United Parks & Resorts' P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 2.2%. This has erased any of its gains during the last three years, with practically no change in EPS being achieved in total. Therefore, it's fair to say that earnings growth has been inconsistent recently for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the eleven analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 17% each year over the next three years. With the market only predicted to deliver 10% per year, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

With this information, we find it odd that United Parks & Resorts is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Apparently some shareholders are doubtful of the forecasts and have been accepting significantly lower selling prices.

What We Can Learn From United Parks & Resorts' P/E?

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 United Parks & Resorts currently trades on a much lower than expected P/E since its forecast growth is higher than the wider market. There could be some major unobserved threats to earnings preventing the P/E ratio from matching the positive outlook. At least price risks look to be very low, but investors seem to think future earnings could see a lot of volatility.

Don't forget that there may be other risks.

You might be able to find a better investment than United Parks & Resorts.

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.