When close to half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 34x, you may consider China National Gold Group Gold Jewellery Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:600916) as an attractive investment with its 17.7x 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 limited.

China National Gold Group Gold JewelleryLtd certainly has been doing a good job lately as its earnings growth has been positive while most other companies have been seeing their earnings go backwards. 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 China National Gold Group Gold JewelleryLtd

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

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as low as China National Gold Group Gold JewelleryLtd's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow earnings per share by a handy 4.1% last year. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 47% overall rise in EPS, aided somewhat by its short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 29% as estimated by the four analysts watching the company. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 44% growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we can see why China National Gold Group Gold JewelleryLtd is trading at a P/E lower than the market. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Key Takeaway

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 China National Gold Group Gold JewelleryLtd 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. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider and we've discovered 2 warning signs for China National Gold Group Gold JewelleryLtd (1 can't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

You might be able to find a better investment than China National Gold Group Gold JewelleryLtd. 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.