Jiangsu LiXing General Steel Ball Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:300421) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 33% in the last month, although it is still struggling to make up recently lost ground. Not all shareholders will be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down a very disappointing 19% in the last twelve months.

After such a large jump in price, given around half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 29x, you may consider Jiangsu LiXing General Steel BallLtd as a stock to potentially avoid with its 33x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/E.

Jiangsu LiXing General Steel BallLtd 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. The P/E is probably high because investors think the company will continue to navigate the broader market headwinds better than most. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Does Growth Match The High P/E?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should outperform the market for P/E ratios like Jiangsu LiXing General Steel BallLtd's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 75%. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 96% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 164% during the coming year according to the one analyst following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 41%, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this information, we can see why Jiangsu LiXing General Steel BallLtd is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Bottom Line On Jiangsu LiXing General Steel BallLtd's P/E

The large bounce in Jiangsu LiXing General Steel BallLtd's shares has lifted the company's P/E to a fairly high level. 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 Jiangsu LiXing General Steel BallLtd's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Jiangsu LiXing General Steel BallLtd (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you should be aware of.

You might be able to find a better investment than Jiangsu LiXing General Steel BallLtd. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.