Unfortunately for some shareholders, the DTXS Silk Road Investment Holdings Company Limited (HKG:620) share price has dived 28% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. For any long-term shareholders, the last month ends a year to forget by locking in a 59% share price decline.

Even after such a large drop in price, DTXS Silk Road Investment Holdings' price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 11.9x might still make it look like a sell right now compared to the market in Hong Kong, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 8x and even P/E's below 4x are quite common. However, the P/E might be high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

For instance, DTXS Silk Road Investment Holdings' receding earnings in recent times would have to be some food for thought. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think the company will still do enough to outperform the broader market in the near future. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

See our latest analysis for DTXS Silk Road Investment Holdings

Does Growth Match The High P/E?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as high as DTXS Silk Road Investment Holdings' is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 66%. Even so, admirably EPS has lifted 998% in aggregate from three years ago, notwithstanding the last 12 months. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would probably welcome the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Weighing that recent medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 22% shows it's noticeably more attractive on an annualised basis.

In light of this, it's understandable that DTXS Silk Road Investment Holdings' P/E sits above the majority of other companies. Presumably shareholders aren't keen to offload something they believe will continue to outmanoeuvre the bourse.

What We Can Learn From DTXS Silk Road Investment Holdings' P/E?

DTXS Silk Road Investment Holdings' P/E hasn't come down all the way after its stock plunged. 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 DTXS Silk Road Investment Holdings revealed its three-year earnings trends are contributing to its high P/E, given they look better than current market expectations. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

It is also worth noting that we have found 3 warning signs for DTXS Silk Road Investment Holdings (1 is significant!) that you need to take into consideration.

If you're unsure about the strength of DTXS Silk Road Investment Holdings' business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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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.