When close to half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 36x, you may consider China Green Electricity Investment of Tianjin Co., Ltd. (SZSE:000537) as an attractive investment with its 21.9x 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 limited.

Recent times have been pleasing for China Green Electricity Investment of Tianjin as its earnings have risen in spite of the market's earnings going into reverse. 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 not, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for China Green Electricity Investment of Tianjin

Is There Any Growth For China Green Electricity Investment of Tianjin?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as low as China Green Electricity Investment of Tianjin's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 481% gain to the company's bottom line. Despite this strong recent growth, it's still struggling to catch up as its three-year EPS frustratingly shrank by 69% overall. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the only analyst covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 129% over the next year. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 43%, which is noticeably less attractive.

In light of this, it's peculiar that China Green Electricity Investment of Tianjin's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It looks like most investors are not convinced at all that the company can achieve future growth expectations.

The Bottom Line On China Green Electricity Investment of Tianjin's 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.

We've established that China Green Electricity Investment of Tianjin currently trades on a much lower than expected P/E since its forecast growth is higher than the wider market. When we see a strong earnings outlook with faster-than-market growth, we assume potential risks are what might be placing significant pressure on the P/E ratio. It appears many are indeed anticipating earnings instability, because these conditions should normally provide a boost to the share price.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 3 warning signs for China Green Electricity Investment of Tianjin you should be aware of, and 2 of them are a bit concerning.

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.