CITIC Limited's (HKG:267) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 3.2x might make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the market in Hong Kong, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 9x and even P/E's above 17x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/E.

CITIC's negative earnings growth of late has neither been better nor worse than most other companies. It might be that many expect the company's earnings performance to degrade further, which has repressed the P/E. You'd much rather the company wasn't bleeding earnings if you still believe in the business. At the very least, you'd be hoping that earnings don't fall off a cliff if your plan is to pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

How Is CITIC's Growth Trending?

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

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 5.7%. However, a few very strong years before that means that it was still able to grow EPS by an impressive 40% in total over the last three years. Although it's been a bumpy ride, it's still fair to say the earnings growth recently has been more than adequate for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the five analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 5.4% each year over the next three years. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 16% each year, which is noticeably more attractive.

With this information, we can see why CITIC is trading at a P/E lower than the market. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Key Takeaway

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 CITIC 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. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider before investing and we've discovered 1 warning sign for CITIC that you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on a low P/E.

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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.