It's not a stretch to say that SITC International Holdings Company Limited's (HKG:1308) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 10.8x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the market in Hong Kong, where the median P/E ratio is around 10x. However, investors might be overlooking a clear opportunity or potential setback if there is no rational basis for the P/E.

While the market has experienced earnings growth lately, SITC International Holdings' earnings have gone into reverse gear, which is not great. One possibility is that the P/E is moderate because investors think this poor earnings performance will turn around. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

View our latest analysis for SITC International Holdings

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on SITC International Holdings.

Is There Some Growth For SITC International Holdings?

The only time you'd be comfortable seeing a P/E like SITC International Holdings' is when the company's growth is tracking the market closely.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 47%. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk EPS by 21% in aggregate. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the seven analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 5.5% each year over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 13% each year growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we find it interesting that SITC International Holdings 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 Final Word

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 SITC International Holdings currently trades on a higher than expected P/E since its forecast growth is lower than the wider market. 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 SITC International Holdings is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, you should know about.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than SITC International Holdings. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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.