Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Alliance International Education Leasing Holdings Limited (HKG:1563) share price has dived 26% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. For any long-term shareholders, the last month ends a year to forget by locking in a 96% share price decline.

Although its price has dipped substantially, Alliance International Education Leasing Holdings may still be sending bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 5.7x, since almost half of all companies in Hong Kong have P/E ratios greater than 9x and even P/E's higher than 18x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/E.

For example, consider that Alliance International Education Leasing Holdings' financial performance has been poor lately as its earnings have been in decline. It might be that many expect the disappointing earnings performance to continue or accelerate, 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.

How Is Alliance International Education Leasing Holdings' Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Alliance International Education Leasing Holdings would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 51%. This has erased any of its gains during the last three years, with practically no change in EPS being achieved in total. Therefore, it's fair to say that earnings growth has been inconsistent recently for the company.

Weighing that recent medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 23% shows it's noticeably less attractive on an annualised basis.

With this information, we can see why Alliance International Education Leasing Holdings is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on to something they believe will continue to trail the bourse.

The Bottom Line On Alliance International Education Leasing Holdings' P/E

Alliance International Education Leasing Holdings' recently weak share price has pulled its P/E below most other companies. While the price-to-earnings ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of earnings expectations.

We've established that Alliance International Education Leasing Holdings maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its recent three-year growth being lower than the wider market forecast, 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. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Alliance International Education Leasing Holdings you should be aware of.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Alliance International Education Leasing Holdings. 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.