With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 72.7x Inner Mongolia Furui Medical Science Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300049) may be sending very bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in China have P/E ratios under 38x and even P/E's lower than 21x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.
With its earnings growth in positive territory compared to the declining earnings of most other companies, Inner Mongolia Furui Medical Science has been doing quite well of late. It seems that many are expecting the company to continue defying the broader market adversity, which has increased investors’ willingness to pay up for the stock. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.
See our latest analysis for Inner Mongolia Furui Medical Science
Does Growth Match The High P/E?
In order to justify its P/E ratio, Inner Mongolia Furui Medical Science would need to produce outstanding growth well in excess of the market.
If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 17%. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 41% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.
Shifting to the future, estimates from the four analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 105% over the next year. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 37%, which is noticeably less attractive.
With this information, we can see why Inner Mongolia Furui Medical Science is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.
The Final Word
Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.
As we suspected, our examination of Inner Mongolia Furui Medical Science's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.
The company's balance sheet is another key area for risk analysis. Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis for Inner Mongolia Furui Medical Science with six simple checks on some of these key factors.
You might be able to find a better investment than Inner Mongolia Furui Medical Science. 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.