With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 17.3x Zhejiang Huangma Technology Co.,Ltd (SHSE:603181) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in China have P/E ratios greater than 32x and even P/E's higher than 59x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Zhejiang Huangma TechnologyLtd could be doing better as its earnings have been going backwards lately while most other companies have been seeing positive earnings growth. It seems that many are expecting the dour earnings performance to persist, which has repressed the P/E. If you still 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.

Keen to find out how analysts think Zhejiang Huangma TechnologyLtd's future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

How Is Zhejiang Huangma TechnologyLtd's Growth Trending?

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

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 26%. This has soured the latest three-year period, which nevertheless managed to deliver a decent 10% overall rise in EPS. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would be roughly satisfied with the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 28% during the coming year according to the three analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 37%, which is noticeably more attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that Zhejiang Huangma TechnologyLtd's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Bottom Line On Zhejiang Huangma TechnologyLtd's 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 Zhejiang Huangma TechnologyLtd maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its forecast growth being lower than the wider market, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Before you take the next step, you should know about the 1 warning sign for Zhejiang Huangma TechnologyLtd that we have uncovered.

If you're unsure about the strength of Zhejiang Huangma TechnologyLtd's 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.