It's not a stretch to say that Sichuan Teway Food Group Co.,Ltd's (SHSE:603317) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 29.9x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the market in China, where the median P/E ratio is around 33x. Although, it's not wise to simply ignore the P/E without explanation as investors may be disregarding a distinct opportunity or a costly mistake.

With earnings growth that's superior to most other companies of late, Sichuan Teway Food GroupLtd has been doing relatively well. One possibility is that the P/E is moderate because investors think this strong earnings performance might be about to tail off. 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 not quite in favour.

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

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Sichuan Teway Food GroupLtd would need to produce growth that's similar to the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 37%. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 35% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 13% each year over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 25% each year growth forecast for the broader market.

In light of this, it's curious that Sichuan Teway Food GroupLtd's P/E sits in line with the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited growth expectations and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. Maintaining these prices will be difficult to achieve as this level of earnings growth is likely to weigh down the shares eventually.

What We Can Learn From Sichuan Teway Food GroupLtd's P/E?

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 Sichuan Teway Food GroupLtd currently trades on a higher than expected P/E since its forecast growth is lower than the wider market. When we see a weak earnings outlook with slower than market growth, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, sending the moderate P/E lower. Unless these conditions improve, it's challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.

It is also worth noting that we have found 1 warning sign for Sichuan Teway Food GroupLtd that you need to take into consideration.

You might be able to find a better investment than Sichuan Teway Food GroupLtd. 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.