When close to half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 38x, you may consider Guangdong Rifeng Electric Cable Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002953) as an attractive investment with its 28.1x P/E ratio. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Guangdong Rifeng Electric Cable certainly has been doing a great job lately as it's been growing earnings at a really rapid pace. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

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

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 48% last year. However, the latest three year period hasn't been as great in aggregate as it didn't manage to provide any growth at all. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing earnings over that time.

This is in contrast to the rest of the market, which is expected to grow by 38% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

In light of this, it's understandable that Guangdong Rifeng Electric Cable's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on to something they believe will continue to trail the bourse.

The Bottom Line On Guangdong Rifeng Electric Cable's P/E

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 Guangdong Rifeng Electric Cable maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its recent three-year growth being lower than the wider market forecast, 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. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - Guangdong Rifeng Electric Cable has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on a low P/E.

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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.