Despite an already strong run, Weichai Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd. (SZSE:000880) shares have been powering on, with a gain of 51% in the last thirty days. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 72% in the last year.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, you could still be forgiven for feeling indifferent about Weichai Heavy Machinery's P/E ratio of 34.4x, since the median price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio in China is also close to 36x. Although, it's not wise to simply ignore the P/E without explanation as investors may be disregarding a distinct opportunity or a costly mistake.

Earnings have risen firmly for Weichai Heavy Machinery recently, which is pleasing to see. One possibility is that the P/E is moderate because investors think this respectable earnings growth might not be enough to outperform the broader market in the near future. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders probably aren't too pessimistic about the future direction of the share price.

How Is Weichai Heavy Machinery's Growth Trending?

Weichai Heavy Machinery's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver moderate growth, and importantly, perform in line with the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow earnings per share by a handy 11% last year. The latest three year period has also seen a 29% overall rise in EPS, aided somewhat by its short-term performance. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been respectable for the company.

Weighing that recent medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 38% shows it's noticeably less attractive on an annualised basis.

With this information, we find it interesting that Weichai Heavy Machinery is trading at a fairly similar P/E to the market. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited recent growth rates and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. Maintaining these prices will be difficult to achieve as a continuation of recent earnings trends is likely to weigh down the shares eventually.

The Final Word

Its shares have lifted substantially and now Weichai Heavy Machinery's P/E is also back up to the market median. 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.

Our examination of Weichai Heavy Machinery revealed its three-year earnings trends aren't impacting its P/E as much as we would have predicted, given they look worse than current market expectations. When we see weak earnings with slower than market growth, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, sending the moderate P/E lower. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it will place shareholders' investments at risk and potential investors in danger of paying an unnecessary premium.

It is also worth noting that we have found 1 warning sign for Weichai Heavy Machinery that you need to take into consideration.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on a low P/E.

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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.