Jiangsu Yunyi Electric Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:300304) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 25% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. The last month has meant the stock is now only up 8.1% during the last year.

Although its price has dipped substantially, Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 16.4x might still make it look like a buy right now compared to the market in China, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 30x and even P/E's above 54x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/E.

Recent times have been quite advantageous for Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd as its earnings have been rising very briskly. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, 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.

View our latest analysis for Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd

How Is Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd's Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 93% gain to the company's bottom line. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 77% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.

Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 42% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is weaker based on recent medium-term annualised earnings results.

In light of this, it's understandable that Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

What We Can Learn From Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd's P/E?

Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd's recently weak share price has pulled its P/E below most other companies. While the price-to-earnings ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of earnings expectations.

As we suspected, our examination of Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd revealed its three-year earnings trends are contributing to its low P/E, given they look worse than current market expectations. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

It is also worth noting that we have found 2 warning signs for Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd (1 can't be ignored!) that you need to take into consideration.

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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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.