Shanghai Wanye Enterprises Co.,Ltd (SHSE:600641) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 26% in the last month, although it is still struggling to make up recently lost ground. Not all shareholders will be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down a very disappointing 29% in the last twelve months.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, given about half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 31x, you may still consider Shanghai Wanye EnterprisesLtd as an attractive investment with its 23.9x P/E ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

With its earnings growth in positive territory compared to the declining earnings of most other companies, Shanghai Wanye EnterprisesLtd 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 not, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

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

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as low as Shanghai Wanye EnterprisesLtd's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 318%. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 138% 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.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the five analysts covering the company suggest earnings growth is heading into negative territory, declining 11% over the next year. That's not great when the rest of the market is expected to grow by 41%.

With this information, we are not surprised that Shanghai Wanye EnterprisesLtd is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/E has reached a floor yet with earnings going in reverse. There's potential for the P/E to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its profitability.

The Final Word

The latest share price surge wasn't enough to lift Shanghai Wanye EnterprisesLtd's P/E close to the market median. Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

We've established that Shanghai Wanye EnterprisesLtd maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its forecast for sliding earnings, 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.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Shanghai Wanye EnterprisesLtd (1 is a bit concerning) you should be aware of.

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.