Xiangyang Changyuandonggu Industry Co., Ltd. (SHSE:603950) Held Back By Insufficient Growth Even After Shares Climb 27%

Those holding Xiangyang Changyuandonggu Industry Co., Ltd. (SHSE:603950) shares would be relieved that the share price has rebounded 27% in the last thirty days, but it needs to keep going to repair the recent damage it has caused to investor portfolios. Looking further back, the 13% rise over the last twelve months isn't too bad notwithstanding the strength over the last 30 days.

Even after such a large jump in price, Xiangyang Changyuandonggu Industry's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 25.1x might still make it look like a buy right now compared to the market in China, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 31x and even P/E's above 56x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

With earnings growth that's exceedingly strong of late, Xiangyang Changyuandonggu Industry has been doing very well. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this strong earnings growth might actually underperform the broader market in the near future. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

View our latest analysis for Xiangyang Changyuandonggu Industry

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Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

Xiangyang Changyuandonggu Industry'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.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 74% last year. Still, incredibly EPS has fallen 52% 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 41% 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 Xiangyang Changyuandonggu Industry 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 Bottom Line On Xiangyang Changyuandonggu Industry's P/E

Xiangyang Changyuandonggu Industry's stock might have been given a solid boost, but its P/E certainly hasn't reached any great heights. 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 Xiangyang Changyuandonggu Industry 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.

Before you take the next step, you should know about the 2 warning signs for Xiangyang Changyuandonggu Industry that we have uncovered.

You might be able to find a better investment than Xiangyang Changyuandonggu Industry. 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.