Sinofibers Technology Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:300777) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 27% after a shaky period beforehand. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 30% over that time.
Following the firm bounce in price, Sinofibers TechnologyLtd may be sending very bearish signals at the moment with a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 58.4x, since almost half of all companies in China have P/E ratios under 28x and even P/E's lower than 17x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.
Sinofibers TechnologyLtd has been struggling lately as its earnings have declined faster than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think the company will turn things around completely and accelerate past most others in the market. If not, then existing shareholders may be very nervous about the viability of the share price.
View our latest analysis for Sinofibers TechnologyLtd
If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Sinofibers TechnologyLtd.Sinofibers TechnologyLtd's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 71% decrease to the company's bottom line. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk EPS by 28% in aggregate. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing earnings over that time.
Shifting to the future, estimates from the four analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 40% per annum over the next three years. With the market only predicted to deliver 19% each year, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.
In light of this, it's understandable that Sinofibers TechnologyLtd's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.
Shares in Sinofibers TechnologyLtd have built up some good momentum lately, which has really inflated its P/E. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.
We've established that Sinofibers TechnologyLtd maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.
And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Sinofibers TechnologyLtd you should know about.
You might be able to find a better investment than Sinofibers TechnologyLtd. 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).
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.