Jiangsu Luokai Mechanical &Electrical Co., Ltd. (SHSE:603829) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 26% in the last month, although it is still struggling to make up recently lost ground. Unfortunately, despite the strong performance over the last month, the full year gain of 2.6% isn't as attractive.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, Jiangsu Luokai Mechanical &Electrical's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 18.7x might still make it look like a buy right now compared to the market in China, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 31x and even P/E's above 56x 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 limited.

Jiangsu Luokai Mechanical &Electrical certainly has been doing a great job lately as it's been growing earnings at a really rapid pace. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

Is There Any Growth For Jiangsu Luokai Mechanical &Electrical?

Jiangsu Luokai Mechanical &Electrical's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 62%. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 55% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 41% 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 understandable that Jiangsu Luokai Mechanical &Electrical's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Bottom Line On Jiangsu Luokai Mechanical &Electrical's P/E

Jiangsu Luokai Mechanical &Electrical's stock might have been given a solid boost, but its P/E certainly hasn't reached any great heights. Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

As we suspected, our examination of Jiangsu Luokai Mechanical &Electrical revealed its three-year earnings trends are contributing to its low P/E, given they look worse than current market expectations. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider before investing and we've discovered 1 warning sign for Jiangsu Luokai Mechanical &Electrical that you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on a low P/E.

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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.