When close to half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 32x, you may consider SDIC Power Holdings Co., Ltd (SHSE:600886) as an attractive investment with its 18.7x P/E ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

SDIC Power Holdings certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings more than most other companies. 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.

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on SDIC Power Holdings.

Is There Any Growth For SDIC Power Holdings?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, SDIC Power Holdings would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 98% last year. Still, EPS has barely risen at all from three years ago in total, which is not ideal. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing earnings over that time.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 31% during the coming year according to the nine analysts following the company. With the market predicted to deliver 36% growth , the company is positioned for a weaker earnings result.

In light of this, it's understandable that SDIC Power Holdings' 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 Final Word

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 SDIC Power Holdings maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its forecast growth being lower than the wider market, 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 these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Plus, you should also learn about these 2 warning signs we've spotted with SDIC Power Holdings (including 1 which is significant).

You might be able to find a better investment than SDIC Power Holdings. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.