Despite an already strong run, Parkson Retail Asia Limited (SGX:O9E) shares have been powering on, with a gain of 26% in the last thirty days. This latest share price bounce rounds out a remarkable 810% gain over the last twelve months.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, given close to half the companies in Singapore have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 12x, you may still consider Parkson Retail Asia as a highly attractive investment with its 2.1x 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.

Parkson Retail Asia certainly has been doing a great job lately as it's been growing earnings at a really rapid pace. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

See our latest analysis for Parkson Retail Asia

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

Parkson Retail Asia's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very poor growth or even falling earnings, and importantly, perform much worse than the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 81%. However, the latest three year period hasn't been as great in aggregate as it didn't manage to provide any growth at all. Therefore, it's fair to say that earnings growth has been inconsistent recently for the company.

This is in contrast to the rest of the market, which is expected to grow by 3.7% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

In light of this, it's understandable that Parkson Retail Asia's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

What We Can Learn From Parkson Retail Asia's P/E?

Shares in Parkson Retail Asia are going to need a lot more upward momentum to get the company's P/E out of its slump. 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 Parkson Retail Asia maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its recent three-year growth being lower than the wider market forecast, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 4 warning signs with Parkson Retail Asia (at least 2 which make us uncomfortable), and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on a P/E below 20x.

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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.