With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 20x Heilongjiang ZBD Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (SHSE:603567) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that 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. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

Recent times have been quite advantageous for Heilongjiang ZBD Pharmaceutical as its earnings have been rising very briskly. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this strong earnings growth might actually underperform 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.

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 Heilongjiang ZBD Pharmaceutical'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 108% last year. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 47% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.

This is in contrast to the rest of the market, which is expected to grow by 36% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

With this information, we can see why Heilongjiang ZBD Pharmaceutical 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.

What We Can Learn From Heilongjiang ZBD Pharmaceutical'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.

We've established that Heilongjiang ZBD Pharmaceutical 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.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Heilongjiang ZBD Pharmaceutical (1 is potentially serious!) that you should be aware of.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Heilongjiang ZBD Pharmaceutical. 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.