When close to half the companies in Hong Kong have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 9x, you may consider China Resources Beer (Holdings) Company Limited (HKG:291) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 13.3x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/E.

There hasn't been much to differentiate China Resources Beer (Holdings)'s and the market's earnings growth lately. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think this modest earnings performance will accelerate. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

View our latest analysis for China Resources Beer (Holdings)

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Does Growth Match The High P/E?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, China Resources Beer (Holdings) would need to produce impressive growth in excess of the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that there was hardly any earnings per share growth to speak of for the company over the past year. Fortunately, a few good years before that means that it was still able to grow EPS by 21% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 12% per annum over the next three years. With the market predicted to deliver 13% growth per year, the company is positioned for a comparable earnings result.

With this information, we find it interesting that China Resources Beer (Holdings) is trading at a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently many investors in the company are more bullish than analysts indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock right now. Although, additional gains will be difficult to achieve as this level of earnings growth is likely to weigh down the share price eventually.

The Final Word

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 China Resources Beer (Holdings) currently trades on a higher than expected P/E since its forecast growth is only in line with the wider market. When we see an average earnings outlook with market-like growth, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, sending the high P/E lower. Unless these conditions improve, it's challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 1 warning sign for China Resources Beer (Holdings) that you should be aware of.

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.