Zhejiang Huakang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.'s (SHSE:605077) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 13.7x might make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the market in China, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 30x and even P/E's above 53x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/E.

Zhejiang Huakang Pharmaceutical has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings at a solid pace. 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 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.

Although there are no analyst estimates available for Zhejiang Huakang Pharmaceutical, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as depressed as Zhejiang Huakang Pharmaceutical's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the market decidedly.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 16% last year. Still, incredibly EPS has fallen 12% in total from three years ago, which is quite disappointing. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 35% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term earnings results is a sobering picture.

With this information, we are not surprised that Zhejiang Huakang Pharmaceutical 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. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as recent earnings trends are already weighing down the shares.

The Final Word

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.

As we suspected, our examination of Zhejiang Huakang Pharmaceutical revealed its shrinking earnings over the medium-term are contributing to its low P/E, given the market is set to grow. 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 moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

Having said that, be aware Zhejiang Huakang Pharmaceutical is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, you should know about.

You might be able to find a better investment than Zhejiang Huakang Pharmaceutical. 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.