Best World International Limited (SGX:CGN) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 30% gain and recovering from prior weakness. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 14% over that time.

Although its price has surged higher, Best World International may still be sending bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 7.6x, since almost half of all companies in Singapore have P/E ratios greater than 12x and even P/E's higher than 21x are not unusual. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

As an illustration, earnings have deteriorated at Best World International over the last year, which is not ideal at all. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think the company won't do enough to avoid underperforming 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 Best World International?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the market for P/E ratios like Best World International's to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 3.8%. That put a dampener on the good run it was having over the longer-term as its three-year EPS growth is still a noteworthy 13% in total. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a good job of growing earnings over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

This is in contrast to the rest of the market, which is expected to grow by 11% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

With this information, we can see why Best World International is trading at a P/E lower than the market. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

What We Can Learn From Best World International's P/E?

The latest share price surge wasn't enough to lift Best World International's P/E close to the market median. 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 Best World International 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. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

The company's balance sheet is another key area for risk analysis. Our free balance sheet analysis for Best World International with six simple checks will allow you to discover any risks that could be an issue.

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.