CNOOC Energy Technology & Services Limited's (SHSE:600968) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 10.6x might make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the market in China, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 34x and even P/E's above 62x are quite common. 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.

CNOOC Energy Technology & Services 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. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, possibly more than the market, which has repressed the P/E. If not, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

View our latest analysis for CNOOC Energy Technology & Services

How Is CNOOC Energy Technology & Services' Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far underperform the market for P/E ratios like CNOOC Energy Technology & Services' to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 53%. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 91% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 15% during the coming year according to the three analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 44%, which is noticeably more attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that CNOOC Energy Technology & Services' P/E sits below the majority of other companies. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on while the company is potentially eyeing a less prosperous future.

The Final Word

It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

As we suspected, our examination of CNOOC Energy Technology & Services' analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook 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. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Plus, you should also learn about this 1 warning sign we've spotted with CNOOC Energy Technology & Services.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on CNOOC Energy Technology & Services, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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