Those holding TianJin 712 Communication & Broadcasting Co., Ltd. (SHSE:603712) shares would be relieved that the share price has rebounded 26% in the last thirty days, but it needs to keep going to repair the recent damage it has caused to investor portfolios. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 14% over that time.

Even after such a large jump in price, there still wouldn't be many who think TianJin 712 Communication & Broadcasting's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 28.9x is worth a mention when the median P/E in China is similar at about 30x. However, investors might be overlooking a clear opportunity or potential setback if there is no rational basis for the P/E.

TianJin 712 Communication & Broadcasting 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 not, then existing shareholders have reason to be feeling optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

Does Growth Match The P/E?

The only time you'd be comfortable seeing a P/E like TianJin 712 Communication & Broadcasting's is when the company's growth is tracking the market closely.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow earnings per share by a handy 4.6% last year. This was backed up an excellent period prior to see EPS up by 98% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 29% as estimated by the six analysts watching the company. With the market predicted to deliver 41% growth , the company is positioned for a weaker earnings result.

With this information, we find it interesting that TianJin 712 Communication & Broadcasting 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. Maintaining these prices will be difficult to achieve as this level of earnings growth is likely to weigh down the shares eventually.

The Key Takeaway

TianJin 712 Communication & Broadcasting's stock has a lot of momentum behind it lately, which has brought its P/E level with the market. 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.

We've established that TianJin 712 Communication & Broadcasting 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. This places shareholders' investments at risk and potential investors in danger of paying an unnecessary premium.

A lot of potential risks can sit within a company's balance sheet. Our free balance sheet analysis for TianJin 712 Communication & Broadcasting with six simple checks will allow you to discover any risks that could be an issue.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than TianJin 712 Communication & Broadcasting. 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.