When close to half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 36x, you may consider Chongqing Sanfeng Environment Group Corp., Ltd. (SHSE:601827) as a highly attractive investment with its 10.3x 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.

Chongqing Sanfeng Environment Group 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 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.

View our latest analysis for Chongqing Sanfeng Environment Group

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as depressed as Chongqing Sanfeng Environment Group's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the market decidedly.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 27%. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 57% overall rise in EPS, aided 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.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the one analyst covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 9.5% over the next year. With the market predicted to deliver 43% growth , the company is positioned for a weaker earnings result.

In light of this, it's understandable that Chongqing Sanfeng Environment Group's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Bottom Line On Chongqing Sanfeng Environment Group's P/E

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

As we suspected, our examination of Chongqing Sanfeng Environment Group's analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook is contributing to its low P/E. 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.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Chongqing Sanfeng Environment Group you should know about.

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

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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.