With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 38.8x Sinomach Auto mobile Co.,Ltd (SHSE:600335) may be sending bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in China have P/E ratios under 33x and even P/E's lower than 19x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

We'd have to say that with no tangible growth over the last year, Sinomach Auto mobileLtd's earnings have been unimpressive. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think the benign earnings growth will improve to outperform the broader market in the near future. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

See our latest analysis for Sinomach Auto mobileLtd

Is There Enough Growth For Sinomach Auto mobileLtd?

Sinomach Auto mobileLtd's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver solid growth, and importantly, perform better than the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, the company posted a result that saw barely any deviation from a year ago. Fortunately, a few good years before that means that it was still able to grow EPS by 21% in total over the last three years. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing earnings over that time.

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

In light of this, it's alarming that Sinomach Auto mobileLtd's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited recent growth rates and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. There's a good chance existing shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with recent growth rates.

The Bottom Line On Sinomach Auto mobileLtd'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.

Our examination of Sinomach Auto mobileLtd revealed its three-year earnings trends aren't impacting its high P/E anywhere near as much as we would have predicted, given they look worse than current market expectations. When we see weak earnings with slower than market growth, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, sending the high P/E lower. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve markedly, it's very challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.

You need to take note of risks, for example - Sinomach Auto mobileLtd has 5 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit unpleasant) we think you should know about.

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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