Suzhou Xingye Materials Technology Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:603928) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 28% in the last month, although it is still struggling to make up recently lost ground. Not all shareholders will be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down a very disappointing 12% in the last twelve months.

Even after such a large jump in price, Suzhou Xingye Materials TechnologyLtd's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 22.6x 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 32x and even P/E's above 58x are quite common. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

For instance, Suzhou Xingye Materials TechnologyLtd's receding earnings in recent times would have to be some food for thought. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think the company won't do enough to avoid underperforming the broader market in the near future. 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.

Is There Any Growth For Suzhou Xingye Materials TechnologyLtd?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the market for P/E ratios like Suzhou Xingye Materials TechnologyLtd's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 29%. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 36% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the market is expected to grow by 41% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term earnings decline into perspective.

In light of this, it's understandable that Suzhou Xingye Materials TechnologyLtd's P/E would sit below the majority of other companies. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/E has reached a floor yet with earnings going in reverse. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as recent earnings trends are already weighing down the shares.

The Final Word

Suzhou Xingye Materials TechnologyLtd's stock might have been given a solid boost, but its P/E certainly hasn't reached any great heights. 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 Suzhou Xingye Materials TechnologyLtd revealed its shrinking earnings over the medium-term are contributing to its low P/E, given the market is set to grow. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Suzhou Xingye Materials TechnologyLtd you should be aware of.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Suzhou Xingye Materials TechnologyLtd. 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.