With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 20.1x Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co., Ltd. (SHSE:600660) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in China have P/E ratios greater than 32x and even P/E's higher than 57x 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, Fuyao Glass Industry 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Fuyao Glass Industry Group

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the market for P/E ratios like Fuyao Glass Industry Group's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 12% gain to the company's bottom line. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 110% in aggregate from three years ago, partly thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 24% during the coming year according to the analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 42%, which is noticeably more attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that Fuyao Glass Industry Group's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

What We Can Learn From Fuyao Glass Industry Group's 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.

We've established that Fuyao Glass Industry Group maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its forecast growth being lower than the wider market, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Fuyao Glass Industry Group that you should be aware of.

You might be able to find a better investment than Fuyao Glass Industry 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.