With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 4.9x China Reinsurance (Group) Corporation (HKG:1508) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Hong Kong have P/E ratios greater than 10x and even P/E's higher than 19x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

With its earnings growth in positive territory compared to the declining earnings of most other companies, China Reinsurance (Group) has been doing quite well of late. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think the company's earnings are going to fall away like everyone else's soon. 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.

View our latest analysis for China Reinsurance (Group)

How Is China Reinsurance (Group)'s Growth Trending?

China Reinsurance (Group)'s P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 42%. However, this wasn't enough as the latest three year period has seen a very unpleasant 34% drop in EPS in aggregate. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 26% per year during the coming three years according to the two analysts following the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 15% per annum, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

In light of this, it's peculiar that China Reinsurance (Group)'s P/E sits below the majority of other companies. Apparently some shareholders are doubtful of the forecasts and have been accepting significantly lower selling prices.

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.

Our examination of China Reinsurance (Group)'s analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook isn't contributing to its P/E anywhere near as much as we would have predicted. There could be some major unobserved threats to earnings preventing the P/E ratio from matching the positive outlook. It appears many are indeed anticipating earnings instability, because these conditions should normally provide a boost to the share price.

Plus, you should also learn about this 1 warning sign we've spotted with China Reinsurance (Group).

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on a low P/E.

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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.