Despite an already strong run, Huadian Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (SHSE:601226) shares have been powering on, with a gain of 25% in the last thirty days. Looking further back, the 16% rise over the last twelve months isn't too bad notwithstanding the strength over the last 30 days.

Since its price has surged higher, Huadian Heavy Industries' price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 63.8x might make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in China, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 35x and even P/E's below 21x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

Recent times haven't been advantageous for Huadian Heavy Industries as its earnings have been falling quicker than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think the company will turn things around completely and accelerate past most others in the market. If not, then existing shareholders may be very nervous about the viability of the share price.

How Is Huadian Heavy Industries' Growth Trending?

Huadian Heavy Industries' P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 49%. As a result, earnings from three years ago have also fallen 43% overall. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 191% during the coming year according to the four analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 39%, which is noticeably less attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that Huadian Heavy Industries' P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

What We Can Learn From Huadian Heavy Industries' P/E?

Shares in Huadian Heavy Industries have built up some good momentum lately, which has really inflated its P/E. While the price-to-earnings ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of earnings expectations.

As we suspected, our examination of Huadian Heavy Industries' analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

Having said that, be aware Huadian Heavy Industries is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis, you should know about.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Huadian Heavy Industries. 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.