The Jilin Province Huinan Changlong Bio-pharmacy Company Limited (HKG:8049) share price has done very well over the last month, posting an excellent gain of 25%. The last 30 days bring the annual gain to a very sharp 89%.

Even after such a large jump in price, given about half the companies in Hong Kong have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 10x, you may still consider Jilin Province Huinan Changlong Bio-pharmacy as a highly attractive investment with its 3.8x 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 so limited.

With earnings growth that's exceedingly strong of late, Jilin Province Huinan Changlong Bio-pharmacy has been doing very well. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

See our latest analysis for Jilin Province Huinan Changlong Bio-pharmacy

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

Jilin Province Huinan Changlong Bio-pharmacy's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very poor growth or even falling earnings, and importantly, perform much worse than the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 47% last year. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 59% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.

This is in contrast to the rest of the market, which is expected to grow by 23% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

With this information, we can see why Jilin Province Huinan Changlong Bio-pharmacy is trading at a P/E lower than the market. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

What We Can Learn From Jilin Province Huinan Changlong Bio-pharmacy's P/E?

Jilin Province Huinan Changlong Bio-pharmacy's recent share price jump still sees its P/E sitting firmly flat on the ground. 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 Jilin Province Huinan Changlong Bio-pharmacy maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its recent three-year growth being lower than the wider market forecast, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Jilin Province Huinan Changlong Bio-pharmacy you should be aware of.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Jilin Province Huinan Changlong Bio-pharmacy, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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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.