The HangZhou Everfine Photo-e-info Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300306) share price has done very well over the last month, posting an excellent gain of 42%. Taking a wider view, although not as strong as the last month, the full year gain of 13% is also fairly reasonable.

Following the firm bounce in price, HangZhou Everfine Photo-e-info's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 37.9x might make it look like a sell right now compared to the market in China, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 33x and even P/E's below 20x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's as high as it is.

Earnings have risen firmly for HangZhou Everfine Photo-e-info recently, which is pleasing to see. It might be that many expect the respectable earnings performance to beat most other companies over the coming period, which has increased investors' willingness to pay up for the stock. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

How Is HangZhou Everfine Photo-e-info's Growth Trending?

HangZhou Everfine Photo-e-info's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver solid growth, and importantly, perform better than the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 16%. As a result, it also grew EPS by 14% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably been satisfied with the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 37% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is weaker based on recent medium-term annualised earnings results.

With this information, we find it concerning that HangZhou Everfine Photo-e-info is trading at a P/E higher than the market. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than recent times would indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as a continuation of recent earnings trends is likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.

The Final Word

HangZhou Everfine Photo-e-info's P/E is getting right up there since its shares have risen strongly. It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

We've established that HangZhou Everfine Photo-e-info currently trades on a much higher than expected P/E since its recent three-year growth is lower than the wider market forecast. Right now we are increasingly uncomfortable with the high P/E as this earnings performance isn't likely to support such positive sentiment for long. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve markedly, it's very challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - HangZhou Everfine Photo-e-info has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than HangZhou Everfine Photo-e-info. 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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