IFE Elevators Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002774) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 37% gain in the last month alone. Unfortunately, despite the strong performance over the last month, the full year gain of 5.0% isn't as attractive.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, IFE Elevators' price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 22x might still make it look like a buy right now compared to the market in China, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 37x and even P/E's above 71x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/E.

The earnings growth achieved at IFE Elevators over the last year would be more than acceptable for most companies. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this respectable earnings growth might actually underperform the broader market in the near future. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

How Is IFE Elevators' Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the market for P/E ratios like IFE Elevators' to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow earnings per share by a handy 8.5% last year. Still, lamentably EPS has fallen 54% in aggregate from three years ago, which is disappointing. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Weighing that medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 39% shows it's an unpleasant look.

With this information, we are not surprised that IFE Elevators is trading at a P/E lower than the market. However, we think shrinking earnings are unlikely to lead to a stable P/E over the longer term, which could set up shareholders for future disappointment. There's potential for the P/E to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its profitability.

The Key Takeaway

Despite IFE Elevators' shares building up a head of steam, its P/E still lags most other companies. 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 IFE Elevators maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its sliding earnings over the medium-term, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with IFE Elevators, and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

If you're unsure about the strength of IFE Elevators' 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.