With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 19x China Resources Medical Holdings Company Limited (HKG:1515) may be sending very bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Hong Kong have P/E ratios under 9x and even P/E's lower than 4x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

China Resources Medical Holdings has been struggling lately as its earnings have declined faster than most other companies. It might be that many expect the dismal earnings performance to recover substantially, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. If not, then existing shareholders may be very nervous about the viability of the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for China Resources Medical Holdings

How Is China Resources Medical Holdings' Growth Trending?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as steep as China Resources Medical Holdings' is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market decidedly.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 37%. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk EPS by 10% in aggregate. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 43% per year during the coming three years according to the six analysts following the company. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 16% each year growth forecast for the broader market.

In light of this, it's understandable that China Resources Medical Holdings' 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 China Resources Medical Holdings' P/E?

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.

As we suspected, our examination of China Resources Medical Holdings' analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for China Resources Medical Holdings you should be aware of.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than China Resources Medical Holdings. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.