Hangzhou First Applied Material Co., Ltd.'s (SHSE:603806) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 27.3x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the market in China, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 35x and even P/E's above 65x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

Recent times haven't been advantageous for Hangzhou First Applied Material as its earnings have been falling quicker than most other companies. It seems that many are expecting the dismal earnings performance to persist, which has repressed the P/E. You'd much rather the company wasn't bleeding earnings if you still believe in the business. Or at the very least, you'd be hoping the earnings slide doesn't get any worse if your plan is to pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

View our latest analysis for Hangzhou First Applied Material

Is There Any Growth For Hangzhou First Applied Material?

Hangzhou First Applied Material's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 38% decrease to the company's bottom line. That put a dampener on the good run it was having over the longer-term as its three-year EPS growth is still a noteworthy 12% in total. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a good job of growing earnings over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 90% during the coming year according to the analysts following the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 44%, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

With this information, we find it odd that Hangzhou First Applied Material 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.

The Final Word

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.

We've established that Hangzhou First Applied Material 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.

Plus, you should also learn about these 2 warning signs we've spotted with Hangzhou First Applied Material (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable).

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Hangzhou First Applied Material, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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