Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media Co., Ltd. (HKG:811) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 26% after a shaky period beforehand. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 31% in the last year.

Even after such a large jump in price, Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 5.9x might still make it look like a buy right now compared to the market in Hong Kong, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 9x and even P/E's above 18x are quite common. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Earnings have risen firmly for Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media recently, which is pleasing to see. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this respectable earnings growth might actually underperform the broader market in the near future. 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.

Is There Any Growth For Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media?

Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 12% gain to the company's bottom line. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 38% in aggregate from three years ago, partly thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Weighing that recent medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 22% shows it's noticeably less attractive on an annualised basis.

With this information, we can see why Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on to something they believe will continue to trail the bourse.

The Bottom Line On Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media's P/E

The latest share price surge wasn't enough to lift Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media's P/E close to the market median. We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

We've established that Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its recent three-year growth being lower than the wider market forecast, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media that you should be aware of.

You might be able to find a better investment than Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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