The Keck Seng Investments (Hong Kong) Limited (HKG:184) share price has done very well over the last month, posting an excellent gain of 27%. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 16% over that time.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, Keck Seng Investments (Hong Kong) may still be sending very bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 3.8x, since almost half of all companies in Hong Kong have P/E ratios greater than 9x and even P/E's higher than 18x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Keck Seng Investments (Hong Kong) certainly has been doing a great job lately as it's been growing earnings at a really rapid pace. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this strong earnings growth might actually underperform the broader market in the near future. 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.

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/E?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far underperform the market for P/E ratios like Keck Seng Investments (Hong Kong)'s to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 188% last year. Still, EPS has barely risen at all from three years ago in total, which is not ideal. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing earnings over that time.

Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 22% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is weaker based on recent medium-term annualised earnings results.

With this information, we can see why Keck Seng Investments (Hong Kong) is trading at a P/E lower than the market. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

What We Can Learn From Keck Seng Investments (Hong Kong)'s P/E?

Shares in Keck Seng Investments (Hong Kong) are going to need a lot more upward momentum to get the company's P/E out of its slump. Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

We've established that Keck Seng Investments (Hong Kong) maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its recent three-year growth being lower than the wider market forecast, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

The company's balance sheet is another key area for risk analysis. You can assess many of the main risks through our free balance sheet analysis for Keck Seng Investments (Hong Kong) with six simple checks.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Keck Seng Investments (Hong Kong), explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.