When close to half the companies in Hong Kong have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 10x, you may consider COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd. (HKG:1919) as a highly attractive investment with its 3.3x P/E ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so limited.

Recent times haven't been advantageous for COSCO SHIPPING Holdings as its earnings have been falling quicker than most other companies. It seems that many are expecting the dismal earnings performance to persist, which has repressed the P/E. You'd much rather the company wasn't bleeding earnings if you still believe in the business. Or at the very least, you'd be hoping the earnings slide doesn't get any worse if your plan is to pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

View our latest analysis for COSCO SHIPPING Holdings

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/E?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, COSCO SHIPPING Holdings would need to produce anemic growth that's substantially trailing the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 71% decrease to the company's bottom line. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 310% overall rise in EPS, in spite of its unsatisfying short-term performance. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would probably welcome the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should bring diminished returns, with earnings decreasing 55% as estimated by the ten analysts watching the company. That's not great when the rest of the market is expected to grow by 23%.

In light of this, it's understandable that COSCO SHIPPING Holdings' P/E would sit below the majority of other companies. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/E has reached a floor yet with earnings going in reverse. There's potential for the P/E to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its profitability.

The Bottom Line On COSCO SHIPPING Holdings' P/E

We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

As we suspected, our examination of COSCO SHIPPING Holdings' analyst forecasts revealed that its outlook for shrinking earnings is contributing to its low P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. 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 COSCO SHIPPING Holdings (1 is concerning) you should be aware of.

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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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.