With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 19.3x Zhefu Holding Group Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002266) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in China have P/E ratios greater than 33x and even P/E's higher than 61x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Zhefu Holding Group hasn't been tracking well recently as its declining earnings compare poorly to other companies, which have seen some growth on average. 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.

Is There Any Growth For Zhefu Holding Group?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Zhefu Holding Group would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 42% decrease to the company's bottom line. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 56% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 29% per year during the coming three years according to the only analyst following the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 26% each year, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

With this information, we find it odd that Zhefu Holding Group is trading at a P/E lower than the market. It looks like most investors are not convinced at all that the company can achieve future growth expectations.

The Key Takeaway

Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

We've established that Zhefu Holding Group currently trades on a much lower than expected P/E since its forecast growth is higher than the wider market. There could be some major unobserved threats to earnings preventing the P/E ratio from matching the positive outlook. At least price risks look to be very low, but investors seem to think future earnings could see a lot of volatility.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Zhefu Holding Group, and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

You might be able to find a better investment than Zhefu Holding 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.