Winall Hi-tech Seed Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300087) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 26% in the last month, although it is still struggling to make up recently lost ground. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 29% over that time.

Although its price has surged higher, you could still be forgiven for feeling indifferent about Winall Hi-tech Seed's P/E ratio of 29x, since the median price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio in China is also close to 30x. However, investors might be overlooking a clear opportunity or potential setback if there is no rational basis for the P/E.

Winall Hi-tech Seed 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 deteriorate like the rest, which has kept the P/E from rising. 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 not quite in favour.

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The P/E?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Winall Hi-tech Seed would need to produce growth that's similar to the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 16%. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 90% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 21% during the coming year according to the three analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 41%, which is noticeably more attractive.

With this information, we find it interesting that Winall Hi-tech Seed is trading at a fairly similar P/E to the market. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited growth expectations and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. These shareholders may be setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.

What We Can Learn From Winall Hi-tech Seed's P/E?

Its shares have lifted substantially and now Winall Hi-tech Seed's P/E is also back up to the market median. 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 Winall Hi-tech Seed currently trades on a higher than expected P/E since its forecast growth is lower than the wider market. Right now we are uncomfortable with the P/E as the predicted future earnings aren't likely to support a more positive sentiment for long. Unless these conditions improve, it's challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Winall Hi-tech Seed, and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Winall Hi-tech Seed, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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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.