With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 19.9x Jiangsu King's Luck Brewery Joint-Stock Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:603369) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in China have P/E ratios greater than 36x and even P/E's higher than 65x are not unusual. 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 have been pleasing for Jiangsu King's Luck Brewery Ltd as its earnings have risen in spite of the market's earnings going into reverse. 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Jiangsu King's Luck Brewery Ltd

Is There Any Growth For Jiangsu King's Luck Brewery Ltd?

Jiangsu King's Luck Brewery Ltd'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.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 27%. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 108% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 20% during the coming year according to the analysts following the company. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 44% growth forecast for the broader market.

In light of this, it's understandable that Jiangsu King's Luck Brewery Ltd's 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.

The Final Word

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

As we suspected, our examination of Jiangsu King's Luck Brewery Ltd's 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.

Having said that, be aware Jiangsu King's Luck Brewery Ltd is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is a bit concerning.

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.