Zhejiang Xianju Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:002332) shareholders that were waiting for something to happen have been dealt a blow with a 27% share price drop in the last month. Instead of being rewarded, shareholders who have already held through the last twelve months are now sitting on a 22% share price drop.

Since its price has dipped substantially, given about half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 28x, you may consider Zhejiang Xianju PharmaceuticalLtd as a highly attractive investment with its 13.2x P/E ratio. However, the P/E might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

With its earnings growth in positive territory compared to the declining earnings of most other companies, Zhejiang Xianju PharmaceuticalLtd has been doing quite well of late. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think the company's earnings are going to fall away like everyone else's soon. If not, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

Is There Any Growth For Zhejiang Xianju PharmaceuticalLtd?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Zhejiang Xianju PharmaceuticalLtd would need to produce anemic growth that's substantially trailing the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, the company posted a result that saw barely any deviation from a year ago. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 35% overall rise in EPS, in spite of its uninspiring short-term performance. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 8.7% as estimated by the four analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 41%, which is noticeably more attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that Zhejiang Xianju PharmaceuticalLtd's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on while the company is potentially eyeing a less prosperous future.

What We Can Learn From Zhejiang Xianju PharmaceuticalLtd's P/E?

Zhejiang Xianju PharmaceuticalLtd's P/E looks about as weak as its stock price lately. 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.

We've established that Zhejiang Xianju PharmaceuticalLtd maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its forecast growth being lower than the wider market, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Before you take the next step, you should know about the 1 warning sign for Zhejiang Xianju PharmaceuticalLtd that we have uncovered.

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.