Myers Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MYE) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 26% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. The drop over the last 30 days has capped off a tough year for shareholders, with the share price down 16% in that time.

Even after such a large drop in price, Myers Industries may still be sending bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 15.2x, since almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios greater than 18x and even P/E's higher than 32x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

With earnings that are retreating more than the market's of late, Myers Industries has been very sluggish. The P/E is probably low because investors think this poor earnings performance isn't going to improve at all. You'd much rather the company wasn't bleeding earnings if you still believe in the business. If not, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

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How Is Myers Industries' Growth Trending?

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

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 30% decrease to the company's bottom line. However, a few very strong years before that means that it was still able to grow EPS by an impressive 39% in total over the last three years. Although it's been a bumpy ride, it's still fair to say the earnings growth recently has been more than adequate for the company.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 21% per annum during the coming three years according to the only analyst following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 9.9% per annum, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this information, we find it odd that Myers Industries is trading at a P/E lower than the market. It looks like most investors are not convinced at all that the company can achieve future growth expectations.

The Bottom Line On Myers Industries' P/E

Myers Industries' P/E has taken a tumble along with its share price. 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.

We've established that Myers Industries currently trades on a much lower than expected P/E since its forecast growth is higher than the wider market. When we see a strong earnings outlook with faster-than-market growth, we assume potential risks are what might be placing significant pressure on the P/E ratio. It appears many are indeed anticipating earnings instability, because these conditions should normally provide a boost to the share price.

Plus, you should also learn about this 1 warning sign we've spotted with Myers Industries.

You might be able to find a better investment than Myers Industries. 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).

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.