When close to half the companies in Hong Kong have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 11x, you may consider China Tower Corporation Limited (HKG:788) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 16.7x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

China Tower certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings more than most other companies. It seems that many are expecting the strong earnings performance to persist, which has raised the P/E. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

See our latest analysis for China Tower

Keen to find out how analysts think China Tower's future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The High P/E?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, China Tower would need to produce outstanding growth well in excess of the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 8.9% gain to the company's bottom line. This was backed up an excellent period prior to see EPS up by 48% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 34% per year over the next three years. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 12% each year, which is noticeably less attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that China Tower'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.

The Bottom Line On China Tower's P/E

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 Tower'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. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

A lot of potential risks can sit within a company's balance sheet. Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis for China Tower with six simple checks on some of these key factors.

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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