To the annoyance of some shareholders, JILIN JINGUAN ELECTRIC Co.,Ltd (SZSE:300510) shares are down a considerable 28% in the last month, which continues a horrid run for the company. The drop over the last 30 days has capped off a tough year for shareholders, with the share price down 33% in that time.

In spite of the heavy fall in price, JILIN JINGUAN ELECTRICLtd's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 47x might still make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in China, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 27x and even P/E's below 17x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

JILIN JINGUAN ELECTRICLtd certainly has been doing a good job lately as its earnings growth has been positive while most other companies have been seeing their earnings go backwards. The P/E is probably high because investors think the company will continue to navigate the broader market headwinds better than most. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Is There Enough Growth For JILIN JINGUAN ELECTRICLtd?

JILIN JINGUAN ELECTRICLtd's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 121% last year. Although, its longer-term performance hasn't been as strong with three-year EPS growth being relatively non-existent overall. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 234% during the coming year according to the dual analysts following the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 41%, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

With this information, we can see why JILIN JINGUAN ELECTRICLtd is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

What We Can Learn From JILIN JINGUAN ELECTRICLtd's P/E?

A significant share price dive has done very little to deflate JILIN JINGUAN ELECTRICLtd's very lofty P/E. Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

We've established that JILIN JINGUAN ELECTRICLtd maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for JILIN JINGUAN ELECTRICLtd that you should be aware of.

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.