Xiamen East Asia Machinery Industrial Co., Ltd.'s (SZSE:301028) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 21.2x 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 34x and even P/E's above 65x 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.

The earnings growth achieved at Xiamen East Asia Machinery Industrial over the last year would be more than acceptable for most companies. It might be that many expect the respectable earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. 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.

How Is Xiamen East Asia Machinery Industrial's Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the market for P/E ratios like Xiamen East Asia Machinery Industrial's to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 27% last year. Despite this strong recent growth, it's still struggling to catch up as its three-year EPS frustratingly shrank by 24% overall. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 36% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term earnings results is a sobering picture.

In light of this, it's understandable that Xiamen East Asia Machinery Industrial's P/E would sit below the majority of other companies. However, we think shrinking earnings are unlikely to lead to a stable P/E over the longer term, which could set up shareholders for future disappointment. There's potential for the P/E to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its profitability.

The Final Word

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 Xiamen East Asia Machinery Industrial maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its sliding earnings over the medium-term, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Xiamen East Asia Machinery Industrial (1 is significant!) that you should be aware of.

You might be able to find a better investment than Xiamen East Asia Machinery Industrial. 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.