Shanghai General Healthy Information and Technology Co., Ltd. (SHSE:605186) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 28% in the last month, although it is still struggling to make up recently lost ground. Taking a wider view, although not as strong as the last month, the full year gain of 19% is also fairly reasonable.

Since its price has surged higher, given close to half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 29x, you may consider Shanghai General Healthy Information and Technology as a stock to avoid entirely with its 49.8x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

Shanghai General Healthy Information and Technology has been struggling lately as its earnings have declined faster than most other companies. It might be that many expect the dismal earnings performance to recover substantially, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

How Is Shanghai General Healthy Information and Technology's Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Shanghai General Healthy Information and Technology would need to produce outstanding growth well in excess of the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 17%. As a result, earnings from three years ago have also fallen 30% overall. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 91% as estimated by the two analysts watching the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 41%, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

In light of this, it's understandable that Shanghai General Healthy Information and Technology's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Bottom Line On Shanghai General Healthy Information and Technology's P/E

Shares in Shanghai General Healthy Information and Technology have built up some good momentum lately, which has really inflated its P/E. It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

As we suspected, our examination of Shanghai General Healthy Information and Technology's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Shanghai General Healthy Information and Technology you should know about.

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.