With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 9.7x Daqin Railway Co., Ltd. (SHSE:601006) may be sending very bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in China have P/E ratios greater than 36x and even P/E's higher than 65x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Recent times haven't been advantageous for Daqin Railway as its earnings have been falling quicker than most other companies. It seems that many are expecting the dismal earnings performance to persist, which has repressed the P/E. You'd much rather the company wasn't bleeding earnings if you still believe in the business. Or at the very least, you'd be hoping the earnings slide doesn't get any worse if your plan is to pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

See our latest analysis for Daqin Railway

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as depressed as Daqin Railway's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the market decidedly.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 11% decrease to the company's bottom line. This has soured the latest three-year period, which nevertheless managed to deliver a decent 7.0% overall rise in EPS. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would be roughly satisfied with the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the nine analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 6.7% over the next year. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 43% growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we can see why Daqin Railway is trading at a P/E lower than the market. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Bottom Line On Daqin Railway's P/E

Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

We've established that Daqin Railway maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its forecast growth being lower than the wider market, 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. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - Daqin Railway has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Daqin Railway. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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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.