When close to half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 31x, you may consider CNGR Advanced Material Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:300919) as an attractive investment with its 17.2x 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.

CNGR Advanced MaterialLtd 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 CNGR Advanced MaterialLtd

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/E?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as low as CNGR Advanced MaterialLtd's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 34% last year. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 311% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 32% as estimated by the six analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 42%, which is noticeably more attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that CNGR Advanced MaterialLtd'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.

What We Can Learn From CNGR Advanced MaterialLtd'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.

As we suspected, our examination of CNGR Advanced MaterialLtd'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.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 1 warning sign for CNGR Advanced MaterialLtd that you should be aware of.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than CNGR Advanced MaterialLtd. 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.