With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 16.2x New China Life Insurance Company Ltd. (SHSE:601336) may be sending very bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in China have P/E ratios greater than 33x and even P/E's higher than 62x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/E.

New China Life Insurance could be doing better as its earnings have been going backwards lately while most other companies have been seeing positive earnings growth. It seems that many are expecting the dour earnings performance to persist, which has repressed the P/E. If this is the case, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

Does Growth Match The Low P/E?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as depressed as New China Life Insurance's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the market decidedly.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 73%. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk EPS by 58% in aggregate. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 27% each year over the next three years. With the market predicted to deliver 26% growth per annum, the company is positioned for a comparable earnings result.

In light of this, it's peculiar that New China Life Insurance's P/E sits below the majority of other companies. It may be that most investors are not convinced the company can achieve future growth expectations.

The Key Takeaway

It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

We've established that New China Life Insurance currently trades on a lower than expected P/E since its forecast growth is in line with the wider market. There could be some unobserved threats to earnings preventing the P/E ratio from matching the outlook. It appears some are indeed anticipating earnings instability, because these conditions should normally provide more support to the share price.

It is also worth noting that we have found 2 warning signs for New China Life Insurance that you need to take into consideration.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than New China Life Insurance. 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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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.