Those holding Goodwill E-Health Info Co., Ltd. (SHSE:688246) shares would be relieved that the share price has rebounded 27% in the last thirty days, but it needs to keep going to repair the recent damage it has caused to investor portfolios. Not all shareholders will be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down a very disappointing 38% in the last twelve months.

Since its price has surged higher, given close to half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 29x, you may consider Goodwill E-Health Info as a stock to avoid entirely with its 73.7x P/E ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

With earnings that are retreating more than the market's of late, Goodwill E-Health Info has been very sluggish. It might be that many expect the dismal earnings performance to recover substantially, 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.

Is There Enough Growth For Goodwill E-Health Info?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like Goodwill E-Health Info's to be considered reasonable.

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 33%. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 55% overall rise in EPS, in spite of its unsatisfying short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a very good job of growing earnings over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 199% as estimated by the five analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 41%, which is noticeably less attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that Goodwill E-Health Info's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

What We Can Learn From Goodwill E-Health Info's P/E?

The strong share price surge has got Goodwill E-Health Info's P/E rushing to great heights as well. 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.

We've established that Goodwill E-Health Info maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Goodwill E-Health Info that you should be aware of.

You might be able to find a better investment than Goodwill E-Health Info. 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.