When close to half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 31x, you may consider Poly Developments and Holdings Group Co., Ltd. (SHSE:600048) as a highly attractive investment with its 8.1x P/E ratio. However, the P/E might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

While the market has experienced earnings growth lately, Poly Developments and Holdings Group's earnings have gone into reverse gear, which is not great. The P/E is probably low because investors think this poor earnings performance isn't going to get any better. If this is the case, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

Poly Developments and Holdings Group's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very poor growth or even falling earnings, and importantly, perform much worse than the market.

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 34%. As a result, earnings from three years ago have also fallen 58% overall. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 8.5% over the next year. With the market predicted to deliver 36% growth , the company is positioned for a weaker earnings result.

With this information, we can see why Poly Developments and Holdings Group is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on while the company is potentially eyeing a less prosperous future.

The Bottom Line On Poly Developments and Holdings 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.

We've established that Poly Developments and Holdings Group maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its forecast growth being lower than the wider market, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Poly Developments and Holdings Group (1 is potentially serious) you should be aware of.

You might be able to find a better investment than Poly Developments and Holdings Group. 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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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.