There's No Escaping China Lesso Group Holdings Limited's (HKG:2128) Muted Earnings

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 5x China Lesso Group Holdings Limited (HKG:2128) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Hong Kong have P/E ratios greater than 10x and even P/E's higher than 20x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/E.

While the market has experienced earnings growth lately, China Lesso Group Holdings' earnings have gone into reverse gear, which is not great. 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.

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Is There Any Growth For China Lesso Group Holdings?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as low as China Lesso Group Holdings' is when the company's growth is on track to lag the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 29% decrease to the company's bottom line. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk EPS by 54% in aggregate. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 9.9% each year during the coming three years according to the seven analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to expand by 12% each year, which is noticeably more attractive.

With this information, we can see why China Lesso Group Holdings is trading at a P/E lower than the market. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Key Takeaway

It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

We've established that China Lesso Group Holdings maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its forecast growth being lower than the wider market, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for China Lesso Group Holdings you should know about.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than China Lesso Group Holdings. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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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.