With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 52.4x SWS Hemodialysis Care Co., Ltd. (SHSE:688410) may be sending bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in China have P/E ratios under 35x and even P/E's lower than 20x 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 as high as it is.

Recent times haven't been advantageous for SWS Hemodialysis Care as its earnings have been falling quicker than most other companies. It might be that many expect the dismal earnings performance to recover substantially, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. If not, then existing shareholders may be very nervous about the viability of the share price.

How Is SWS Hemodialysis Care's Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should outperform the market for P/E ratios like SWS Hemodialysis Care's to be considered reasonable.

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 64%. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 190% overall rise in EPS, in spite of its unsatisfying short-term performance. Although it's been a bumpy ride, it's still fair to say the earnings growth recently has been more than adequate for the company.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 194% as estimated by the only analyst watching the company. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 41% growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we can see why SWS Hemodialysis Care is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Final Word

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.

We've established that SWS Hemodialysis Care maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

It is also worth noting that we have found 3 warning signs for SWS Hemodialysis Care that you need to take into consideration.

If you're unsure about the strength of SWS Hemodialysis Care's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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