Shanghai Baosight Software Co.,Ltd.'s (SHSE:600845) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 36.8x might make it look like a sell right now compared to the market in China, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 30x and even P/E's below 19x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/E.

Recent times have been advantageous for Shanghai Baosight SoftwareLtd as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. It seems that many are expecting the strong earnings performance to persist, which has raised the P/E. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

How Is Shanghai Baosight SoftwareLtd's Growth Trending?

Shanghai Baosight SoftwareLtd's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver solid growth, and importantly, perform better than the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 18% gain to the company's bottom line. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 72% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 31% per year as estimated by the twelve analysts watching the company. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 25% per annum growth forecast for the broader market.

In light of this, it's understandable that Shanghai Baosight SoftwareLtd's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Bottom Line On Shanghai Baosight SoftwareLtd'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 Shanghai Baosight SoftwareLtd's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Shanghai Baosight SoftwareLtd you should be aware of.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Shanghai Baosight SoftwareLtd. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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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.