With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 7.8x China PengFei Group Limited (HKG:3348) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Hong Kong have P/E ratios greater than 12x and even P/E's higher than 26x are not unusual. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

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As an illustration, earnings have deteriorated at China PengFei Group over the last year, which is not ideal at all. It might be that many expect the disappointing earnings performance to continue or accelerate, which has repressed the P/E. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

Check out our latest analysis for China PengFei Group

Although there are no analyst estimates available for China PengFei Group, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.

How Is China PengFei Group's Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, China PengFei Group would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the market.

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 53%. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk EPS by 38% in aggregate. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 19% 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 China PengFei Group is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/E has reached a floor yet with earnings going in reverse. There's potential for the P/E to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its profitability.

What We Can Learn From China PengFei Group's P/E?

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.

We've established that China PengFei Group maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its sliding earnings over the medium-term, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. 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 settle on your opinion, we've discovered 3 warning signs for China PengFei Group that you should be aware of.

If you're unsure about the strength of China PengFei Group's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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