Anhui Hengyuan Coal Industry and Electricity Power Co.,Ltd's (SHSE:600971) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 8x might make it look like a strong 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 58x 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 so limited.

Anhui Hengyuan Coal Industry and Electricity PowerLtd could be doing better as its earnings have been going backwards lately while most other companies have been seeing positive earnings growth. It seems that many are expecting the dour earnings performance to persist, which has repressed the P/E. If this is the case, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

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

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as depressed as Anhui Hengyuan Coal Industry and Electricity PowerLtd's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the market decidedly.

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 32%. However, a few very strong years before that means that it was still able to grow EPS by an impressive 125% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a very good job of growing earnings over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 2.1% per year during the coming three years according to the two analysts following the company. With the market predicted to deliver 25% growth per year, the company is positioned for a weaker earnings result.

In light of this, it's understandable that Anhui Hengyuan Coal Industry and Electricity PowerLtd's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

What We Can Learn From Anhui Hengyuan Coal Industry and Electricity PowerLtd's P/E?

We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

As we suspected, our examination of Anhui Hengyuan Coal Industry and Electricity PowerLtd's analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook is contributing to its low P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Plus, you should also learn about this 1 warning sign we've spotted with Anhui Hengyuan Coal Industry and Electricity PowerLtd.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Anhui Hengyuan Coal Industry and Electricity PowerLtd. 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.