Hainan Strait Shipping Co.,Ltd.'s (SZSE:002320) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 40.5x might make it look like a sell right now compared to the market in China, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 34x and even P/E's below 20x are quite common. However, the P/E might be high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Hainan Strait ShippingLtd has been struggling lately as its earnings have declined faster than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think the company will turn things around completely and accelerate past most others in the market. If not, then existing shareholders may be very nervous about the viability of the share price.

How Is Hainan Strait ShippingLtd's Growth Trending?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as high as Hainan Strait ShippingLtd's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 20%. At least EPS has managed not to go completely backwards from three years ago in aggregate, thanks to the earlier period of growth. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing earnings over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the sole analyst covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 101% over the next year. With the market only predicted to deliver 39%, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

In light of this, it's understandable that Hainan Strait ShippingLtd's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

The Bottom Line On Hainan Strait ShippingLtd'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 Hainan Strait ShippingLtd's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Having said that, be aware Hainan Strait ShippingLtd is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis, you should know about.

You might be able to find a better investment than Hainan Strait ShippingLtd. 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.