The Nantong Haixing Electronics Co., Ltd. (SHSE:603115) share price has fared very poorly over the last month, falling by a substantial 26%. Instead of being rewarded, shareholders who have already held through the last twelve months are now sitting on a 40% share price drop.

After such a large drop in price, Nantong Haixing Electronics' price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 23.1x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the market in China, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 30x and even P/E's above 54x are quite common. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

For example, consider that Nantong Haixing Electronics' financial performance has been poor lately as its earnings have been in decline. It might be that many expect the disappointing earnings performance to continue or accelerate, 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Nantong Haixing Electronics

Is There Any Growth For Nantong Haixing Electronics?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Nantong Haixing Electronics would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 56%. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 15% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the market is expected to grow by 42% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term earnings decline into perspective.

With this information, we are not surprised that Nantong Haixing Electronics is trading at a P/E lower than the market. However, we think shrinking earnings are unlikely to lead to a stable P/E over the longer term, which could set up shareholders for future disappointment. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as recent earnings trends are already weighing down the shares.

What We Can Learn From Nantong Haixing Electronics' P/E?

Nantong Haixing Electronics' recently weak share price has pulled its P/E below most other companies. While the price-to-earnings ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of earnings expectations.

As we suspected, our examination of Nantong Haixing Electronics revealed its shrinking earnings over the medium-term are contributing to its low P/E, given the market is set to grow. 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.

Having said that, be aware Nantong Haixing Electronics is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 2 of those are a bit concerning.

If you're unsure about the strength of Nantong Haixing Electronics' 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.