Jiangsu Hongtian Technology Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:603800) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 27% gain and recovering from prior weakness. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 35% over that time.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, Jiangsu Hongtian TechnologyLtd may still be sending bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 20.4x, since almost half of all companies in China have P/E ratios greater than 30x and even P/E's higher than 58x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/E.

Jiangsu Hongtian TechnologyLtd certainly has been doing a good job lately as its earnings growth has been positive while most other companies have been seeing their earnings go backwards. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think the company's earnings are going to fall away like everyone else's soon. If not, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

How Is Jiangsu Hongtian TechnologyLtd's Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Jiangsu Hongtian TechnologyLtd would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 54% last year. Still, EPS has barely risen at all from three years ago in total, which is not ideal. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 25% each year as estimated by the four analysts watching the company. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 19% per year growth forecast for the broader market.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Jiangsu Hongtian TechnologyLtd's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It looks like most investors are not convinced at all that the company can achieve future growth expectations.

The Bottom Line On Jiangsu Hongtian TechnologyLtd's P/E

Despite Jiangsu Hongtian TechnologyLtd's shares building up a head of steam, its P/E still lags most other companies. It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

Our examination of Jiangsu Hongtian TechnologyLtd's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook isn't contributing to its P/E anywhere near as much as we would have predicted. When we see a strong earnings outlook with faster-than-market growth, we assume potential risks are what might be placing significant pressure on the P/E ratio. At least price risks look to be very low, but investors seem to think future earnings could see a lot of volatility.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 3 warning signs for Jiangsu Hongtian TechnologyLtd you should be aware of, and 1 of them makes us a bit uncomfortable.

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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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.