When close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 17x, you may consider United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) as an attractive investment with its 11.1x P/E ratio. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

United Therapeutics certainly has been doing a good job lately as its earnings growth has been positive while most other companies have been seeing their earnings go backwards. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think the company's earnings are going to fall away like everyone else's soon. 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.

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, United Therapeutics would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 32% last year. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 80% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 7.3% each year over the next three years. With the market predicted to deliver 10% growth per year, the company is positioned for a weaker earnings result.

In light of this, it's understandable that United Therapeutics' P/E sits below the majority of other companies. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on while the company is potentially eyeing a less prosperous future.

What We Can Learn From United Therapeutics' P/E?

It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

As we suspected, our examination of United Therapeutics' analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook is contributing to its low P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

A lot of potential risks can sit within a company's balance sheet. Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis for United Therapeutics with six simple checks on some of these key factors.

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 low P/E).

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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.