CITIC Securities Company Limited's (SHSE:600030) Prospects Need A Boost To Lift Shares

CITIC Securities Company Limited's (SHSE:600030) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 14.7x 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 31x and even P/E's above 57x 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 so limited.

CITIC Securities could be doing better as its earnings have been going backwards lately while most other companies have been seeing positive earnings growth. It seems that many are expecting the dour earnings performance to persist, which has repressed the P/E. If this is the case, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

View our latest analysis for CITIC Securities

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What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/E?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, CITIC Securities would need to produce anemic growth that's substantially trailing the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 11% decrease to the company's bottom line. Unfortunately, that's brought it right back to where it started three years ago with EPS growth being virtually non-existent overall during that time. 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 9.2% per year during the coming three years according to the analysts following the company. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 25% per annum growth forecast for the broader market.

In light of this, it's understandable that CITIC Securities' 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.

What We Can Learn From CITIC Securities' P/E?

Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

We've established that CITIC Securities 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.

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 1 warning sign for CITIC Securities that you need to be mindful of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on 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.