Guangbo Group Stock Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002103) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 37% gain and recovering from prior weakness. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 32% in the last year.

After such a large jump in price, Guangbo Group Stock may be sending very bearish signals at the moment with a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 64.4x, since almost half of all companies in China have P/E ratios under 35x and even P/E's lower than 20x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Recent times have been quite advantageous for Guangbo Group Stock as its earnings have been rising very briskly. It seems that many are expecting the strong earnings performance to beat most other companies over the coming period, which has increased investors' willingness to pay up for the stock. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

See our latest analysis for Guangbo Group Stock

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The High P/E?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like Guangbo Group Stock's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 355%. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 1,087% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

This is in contrast to the rest of the market, which is expected to grow by 46% over the next year, materially lower than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

With this information, we can see why Guangbo Group Stock is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. It seems most investors are expecting this strong growth to continue and are willing to pay more for the stock.

What We Can Learn From Guangbo Group Stock's P/E?

Shares in Guangbo Group Stock have built up some good momentum lately, which has really inflated its 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 Guangbo Group Stock revealed its three-year earnings trends are contributing to its high P/E, given they look better than current market expectations. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident earnings aren't under threat. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

A lot of potential risks can sit within a company's balance sheet. Our free balance sheet analysis for Guangbo Group Stock with six simple checks will allow you to discover any risks that could be an issue.

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).

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.