With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 21.5x China Yuchai International Limited (NYSE:CYD) may be sending bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios under 19x and even P/E's lower than 11x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/E.
China Yuchai International certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings more than most other companies. The P/E is probably high because investors think this strong earnings performance will continue. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.
View our latest analysis for China Yuchai International
There's an inherent assumption that a company should outperform the market for P/E ratios like China Yuchai International's to be considered reasonable.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 40% gain to the company's bottom line. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 333% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.
Shifting to the future, estimates from the dual analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 24% per annum over the next three years. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 11% per year, which is noticeably less attractive.
In light of this, it's understandable that China Yuchai International's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.
While the price-to-earnings ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of earnings expectations.
As we suspected, our examination of China Yuchai International's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.
Having said that, be aware China Yuchai International is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis, you should know about.
Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than China Yuchai International. 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.