When close to half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 36x, you may consider Wintime Energy Group Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:600157) as a highly attractive investment with its 15.3x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/E.

With its earnings growth in positive territory compared to the declining earnings of most other companies, Wintime Energy GroupLtd has been doing quite well of late. 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 Wintime Energy GroupLtd

How Is Wintime Energy GroupLtd's Growth Trending?

Wintime Energy GroupLtd'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.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a worthy increase of 4.6%. This was backed up an excellent period prior to see EPS up by 1,179% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 34% as estimated by the dual analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 43%, which is noticeably more attractive.

With this information, we can see why Wintime Energy GroupLtd is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on while the company is potentially eyeing a less prosperous future.

The Bottom Line On Wintime Energy GroupLtd's 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.

We've established that Wintime Energy GroupLtd 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. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Wintime Energy GroupLtd that you should be aware of.

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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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.