When close to half the companies in Singapore have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 11x, you may consider Sinarmas Land Limited (SGX:A26) as a highly attractive investment with its 3x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/E.

As an illustration, earnings have deteriorated at Sinarmas Land over the last year, which is not ideal at all. 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 Sinarmas Land's Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Sinarmas Land would need to produce anemic growth that's substantially trailing the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 23%. However, a few very strong years before that means that it was still able to grow EPS by an impressive 34% 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.

Weighing that recent medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 13% shows it's noticeably less attractive on an annualised basis.

With this information, we can see why Sinarmas Land is trading at a P/E lower than the market. 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.

What We Can Learn From Sinarmas Land's P/E?

Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

As we suspected, our examination of Sinarmas Land 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.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Sinarmas Land you should be aware of.

You might be able to find a better investment than Sinarmas Land. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.