Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd.'s (SHSE:600887) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 16.3x might 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 32x and even P/E's above 58x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

Recent times have been advantageous for Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this strong earnings performance might be less impressive moving forward. 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.

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the market for P/E ratios like Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 21% gain to the company's bottom line. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 39% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 5.7% per annum over the next three years. With the market predicted to deliver 20% growth per year, the company is positioned for a weaker earnings result.

With this information, we can see why Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group 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 Bottom Line On Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group's P/E

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

As we suspected, our examination of Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group's analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook is contributing to its low P/E. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

The company's balance sheet is another key area for risk analysis. Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis for Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group with six simple checks on some of these key factors.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on 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.