Luxshare Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002475) shares have had a horrible month, losing 26% after a relatively good period beforehand. Instead of being rewarded, shareholders who have already held through the last twelve months are now sitting on a 23% share price drop.

Following the heavy fall in price, Luxshare Precision Industry may be sending bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 18x, since almost half of all companies in China have P/E ratios greater than 30x and even P/E's higher than 54x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Recent times have been pleasing for Luxshare Precision Industry 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 not, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

View our latest analysis for Luxshare Precision Industry

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

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Luxshare Precision Industry would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a worthy increase of 15%. This was backed up an excellent period prior to see EPS up by 50% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 25% per year over the next three years. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 22% per annum, which is noticeably less attractive.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Luxshare Precision Industry'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 Luxshare Precision Industry's P/E

Luxshare Precision Industry's P/E has taken a tumble along with its share price. 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 Luxshare Precision Industry currently trades on a much lower than expected P/E since its forecast growth is higher than the wider market. There could be some major unobserved threats to earnings preventing the P/E ratio from matching the positive outlook. It appears many are indeed anticipating earnings instability, because these conditions should normally provide a boost to the share price.

Many other vital risk factors can be found on the company's balance sheet. You can assess many of the main risks through our free balance sheet analysis for Luxshare Precision Industry with six simple checks.

You might be able to find a better investment than Luxshare Precision Industry. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.