Hebei Yangyuan ZhiHui Beverage Co., Ltd.'s (SHSE:603156) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 15.3x might make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the market in China, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 36x 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 so limited.

Earnings have risen firmly for Hebei Yangyuan ZhiHui Beverage recently, which is pleasing to see. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this respectable earnings growth might actually underperform the broader market in the near future. 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.

See our latest analysis for Hebei Yangyuan ZhiHui Beverage

How Is Hebei Yangyuan ZhiHui Beverage's Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far underperform the market for P/E ratios like Hebei Yangyuan ZhiHui Beverage's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 18% 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 18% overall. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 43% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term earnings results is a sobering picture.

With this information, we are not surprised that Hebei Yangyuan ZhiHui Beverage is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/E has reached a floor yet with earnings going in reverse. There's potential for the P/E to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its profitability.

The Bottom Line On Hebei Yangyuan ZhiHui Beverage's P/E

Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

We've established that Hebei Yangyuan ZhiHui Beverage maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its sliding earnings over the medium-term, 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 moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - Hebei Yangyuan ZhiHui Beverage has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Hebei Yangyuan ZhiHui Beverage. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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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.