When close to half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 35x, you may consider Sichuan Guangan Aaa Public Co.,Ltd (SHSE:600979) as an attractive investment with its 23.9x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/E.

The recent earnings growth at Sichuan Guangan Aaa PublicLtd would have to be considered satisfactory if not spectacular. It might be that many expect the respectable earnings performance to degrade, 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.

See our latest analysis for Sichuan Guangan Aaa PublicLtd

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the market for P/E ratios like Sichuan Guangan Aaa PublicLtd's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a worthy increase of 6.0%. Ultimately though, it couldn't turn around the poor performance of the prior period, with EPS shrinking 13% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Weighing that medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 48% shows it's an unpleasant look.

In light of this, it's understandable that Sichuan Guangan Aaa PublicLtd's P/E would sit below the majority of other companies. However, we think shrinking earnings are unlikely to lead to a stable P/E over the longer term, which could set up shareholders for future disappointment. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as recent earnings trends are already weighing down the shares.

What We Can Learn From Sichuan Guangan Aaa PublicLtd'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.

We've established that Sichuan Guangan Aaa PublicLtd maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its sliding earnings over the medium-term, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Sichuan Guangan Aaa PublicLtd (of which 1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) you should know about.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and 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.