With a median price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of close to 10x in Hong Kong, you could be forgiven for feeling indifferent about Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer Company Limited's (HKG:1066) P/E ratio of 11.5x. 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.
Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer hasn't been tracking well recently as its declining earnings compare poorly to other companies, which have seen some growth on average. It might be that many expect the dour earnings performance to strengthen positively, which has kept the P/E from falling. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.
How Is Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer's Growth Trending?
Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver moderate growth, and importantly, perform in line with the market.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 28% decrease to the company's bottom line. As a result, earnings from three years ago have also fallen 5.8% overall. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.
Shifting to the future, estimates from the eight analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 10% per year over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 16% per year growth forecast for the broader market.
With this information, we find it interesting that Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer is trading at a fairly similar P/E to the market. 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.
The Bottom Line On Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer's P/E
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.
Our examination of Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer's analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook isn't impacting its P/E as much as we would have predicted. Right now we are uncomfortable with the P/E as the predicted future earnings aren't likely to support a more positive sentiment for long. This places shareholders' investments at risk and potential investors in danger of paying an unnecessary premium.
Having said that, be aware Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis, you should know about.
It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).
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.