Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Nancal Technology Co.,Ltd (SHSE:603859) share price has dived 26% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. The drop over the last 30 days has capped off a tough year for shareholders, with the share price down 23% in that time.

Even after such a large drop in price, Nancal TechnologyLtd's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 18x 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 27x and even P/E's above 48x 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.

With its earnings growth in positive territory compared to the declining earnings of most other companies, Nancal TechnologyLtd has been doing quite well of late. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, possibly more than the market, 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.

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

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

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 56% gain to the company's bottom line. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 84% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 37% during the coming year according to the four analysts following the company. With the market predicted to deliver 41% growth , the company is positioned for a weaker earnings result.

With this information, we can see why Nancal TechnologyLtd 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 Final Word

Nancal TechnologyLtd's P/E has taken a tumble along with its share price. 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.

We've established that Nancal TechnologyLtd 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. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

A lot of potential risks can sit within a company's balance sheet. Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis for Nancal TechnologyLtd with six simple checks on some of these key factors.

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).

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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.