Despite an already strong run, Shenzhen Qingyi Photomask Limited (SHSE:688138) shares have been powering on, with a gain of 26% in the last thirty days. While recent buyers may be laughing, long-term holders might not be as pleased since the recent gain only brings the stock back to where it started a year ago.

Although its price has surged higher, it's still not a stretch to say that Shenzhen Qingyi Photomask's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 34.1x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the market in China, where the median P/E ratio is around 32x. However, investors might be overlooking a clear opportunity or potential setback if there is no rational basis for the P/E.

Recent times have been advantageous for Shenzhen Qingyi Photomask as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/E is moderate because investors think this strong earnings performance might be about to tail off. 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 not quite in favour.

How Is Shenzhen Qingyi Photomask's Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should be matching the market for P/E ratios like Shenzhen Qingyi Photomask's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 60%. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 119% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the two analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 17% each year over the next three years. With the market predicted to deliver 25% growth per year, the company is positioned for a weaker earnings result.

In light of this, it's curious that Shenzhen Qingyi Photomask's P/E sits in line with the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited growth expectations and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. Maintaining these prices will be difficult to achieve as this level of earnings growth is likely to weigh down the shares eventually.

What We Can Learn From Shenzhen Qingyi Photomask's P/E?

Shenzhen Qingyi Photomask appears to be back in favour with a solid price jump getting its P/E back in line with most other companies. 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 Shenzhen Qingyi Photomask's analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook isn't impacting its P/E as much as we would have predicted. When we see a weak earnings outlook with slower than market growth, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, sending the moderate P/E lower. Unless these conditions improve, it's challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.

Many other vital risk factors can be found on the company's balance sheet. You can assess many of the main risks through our free balance sheet analysis for Shenzhen Qingyi Photomask with six simple checks.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and 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.