Anhui Conch Cement Company Limited (HKG:914) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 31% after a shaky period beforehand. Notwithstanding the latest gain, the annual share price return of 8.2% isn't as impressive.

After such a large jump in price, Anhui Conch Cement's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 13.8x might make it look like a sell right now compared to the market in Hong Kong, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 10x and even P/E's below 6x 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.

While the market has experienced earnings growth lately, Anhui Conch Cement's earnings have gone into reverse gear, which is not great. It might be that many expect the dour earnings performance to recover substantially, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Is There Enough Growth For Anhui Conch Cement?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as high as Anhui Conch Cement's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 39%. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk EPS by 78% in aggregate. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 11% each year over the next three years. With the market predicted to deliver 12% growth each year, the company is positioned for a comparable earnings result.

In light of this, it's curious that Anhui Conch Cement's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly average growth expectations and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. These shareholders may be setting themselves up for disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.

The Bottom Line On Anhui Conch Cement's P/E

The large bounce in Anhui Conch Cement's shares has lifted the company's P/E to a fairly high level. 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.

Our examination of Anhui Conch Cement's analyst forecasts revealed that its market-matching earnings outlook isn't impacting its high P/E as much as we would have predicted. When we see an average earnings outlook with market-like growth, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, sending the high P/E lower. This places shareholders' investments at risk and potential investors in danger of paying an unnecessary premium.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Anhui Conch Cement you should be aware of.

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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