Zhongmiao Holdings (Qingdao) Co., Ltd. (HKG:1471) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 49% gain in the last month alone. While recent buyers may be laughing, long-term holders might not be as pleased since the recent gain only brings the stock back to where it started a year ago.

Following the firm bounce in price, Zhongmiao Holdings (Qingdao)'s price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 52.9x might make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in Hong Kong, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 11x and even P/E's below 6x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

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For example, consider that Zhongmiao Holdings (Qingdao)'s financial performance has been pretty ordinary lately as earnings growth is non-existent. It might be that many are expecting an improvement to the uninspiring earnings performance over the coming period, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

View our latest analysis for Zhongmiao Holdings (Qingdao)

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How Is Zhongmiao Holdings (Qingdao)'s Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Zhongmiao Holdings (Qingdao) would need to produce outstanding growth well in excess of the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered virtually the same number to the company's bottom line as the year before. That's essentially a continuation of what we've seen over the last three years, as its EPS growth has been virtually non-existent for that entire period. Therefore, it's fair to say that earnings growth has definitely eluded the company recently.

Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 18% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term earnings results is a sobering picture.

In light of this, it's alarming that Zhongmiao Holdings (Qingdao)'s P/E sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than recent times would indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as a continuation of recent earnings trends is likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.

The Bottom Line On Zhongmiao Holdings (Qingdao)'s P/E

The strong share price surge has got Zhongmiao Holdings (Qingdao)'s P/E rushing to great heights as well. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

We've established that Zhongmiao Holdings (Qingdao) currently trades on a much higher than expected P/E since its recent earnings have been in decline over the medium-term. When we see earnings heading backwards and underperforming the market forecasts, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, sending the high P/E lower. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it will place shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.

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

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Zhongmiao Holdings (Qingdao). 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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