Tak Lee Machinery Holdings Limited (HKG:2102) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 27% after a shaky period beforehand. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 13% over that time.

After such a large jump in price, given close to half the companies in Hong Kong have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 9x, you may consider Tak Lee Machinery Holdings as a stock to avoid entirely with its 19.8x P/E ratio. However, the P/E might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

For example, consider that Tak Lee Machinery Holdings' financial performance has been pretty ordinary lately as earnings growth is non-existent. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think the benign earnings growth will improve to outperform the broader market in the near future. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

Is There Enough Growth For Tak Lee Machinery Holdings?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as steep as Tak Lee Machinery Holdings' is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market decidedly.

If we review the last year of earnings, the company posted a result that saw barely any deviation from a year ago. Whilst it's an improvement, it wasn't enough to get the company out of the hole it was in, with earnings down 87% overall from three years ago. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the market is expected to grow by 22% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term earnings decline into perspective.

With this information, we find it concerning that Tak Lee Machinery Holdings is trading at a P/E higher than the market. It seems most investors are ignoring the recent poor growth rate and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. 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 Bottom Line On Tak Lee Machinery Holdings' P/E

Shares in Tak Lee Machinery Holdings have built up some good momentum lately, which has really inflated its P/E. While the price-to-earnings ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of earnings expectations.

We've established that Tak Lee Machinery Holdings currently trades on a much higher than expected P/E since its recent earnings have been in decline over the medium-term. Right now we are increasingly uncomfortable with the high P/E as this earnings performance is highly unlikely 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.

Having said that, be aware Tak Lee Machinery Holdings is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is a bit unpleasant.

If you're unsure about the strength of Tak Lee Machinery Holdings' business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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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.