When close to half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 35x, you may consider China Resources Double-Crane Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:600062) as a highly attractive investment with its 15.5x P/E ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so limited.

China Resources Double-Crane PharmaceuticalLtd 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. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, possibly more than the market, which has repressed the P/E. 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.

View our latest analysis for China Resources Double-Crane PharmaceuticalLtd

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far underperform the market for P/E ratios like China Resources Double-Crane PharmaceuticalLtd's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 23%. As a result, it also grew EPS by 25% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has actually done a good job of growing earnings over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the sole analyst covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 22% over the next year. With the market predicted to deliver 44% growth , the company is positioned for a weaker earnings result.

With this information, we can see why China Resources Double-Crane PharmaceuticalLtd is trading at a P/E lower than the market. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

What We Can Learn From China Resources Double-Crane PharmaceuticalLtd's P/E?

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.

As we suspected, our examination of China Resources Double-Crane PharmaceuticalLtd's analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook is contributing to its low P/E. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for China Resources Double-Crane PharmaceuticalLtd that you should be aware of.

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 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.