When close to half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 32x, you may consider Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co., Ltd. (SHSE:600660) as an attractive investment with its 21.3x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/E.

Recent times have been advantageous for Fuyao Glass Industry Group as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this strong earnings performance might be less impressive moving forward. 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.

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

Is There Any Growth For Fuyao Glass Industry Group?

Fuyao Glass Industry Group's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 27% gain to the company's bottom line. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 94% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 15% per annum over the next three years. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 21% each year, which is noticeably more attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that Fuyao Glass Industry Group's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on while the company is potentially eyeing a less prosperous future.

The Bottom Line On Fuyao Glass Industry Group's P/E

We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

We've established that Fuyao Glass Industry Group 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.

The company's balance sheet is another key area for risk analysis. Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis for Fuyao Glass Industry Group with six simple checks on some of these key factors.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Fuyao Glass Industry Group, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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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.