AsiaInfo Technologies Limited's (HKG:1675) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 19.9x might make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in Hong Kong, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 10x and even P/E's below 5x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

AsiaInfo Technologies could be doing better as its earnings have been going backwards lately while most other companies have been seeing positive earnings growth. It might be that many expect the dour earnings performance to recover substantially, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. If not, then existing shareholders may be extremely nervous about the viability of the share price.

See our latest analysis for AsiaInfo Technologies

Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on AsiaInfo Technologies will help you uncover what's on the horizon.

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

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like AsiaInfo Technologies' to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 70%. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk EPS by 66% in aggregate. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 44% per annum during the coming three years according to the four analysts following the company. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 13% per year growth forecast for the broader market.

In light of this, it's understandable that AsiaInfo Technologies' 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 Key Takeaway

Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

As we suspected, our examination of AsiaInfo Technologies' 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.

Having said that, be aware AsiaInfo Technologies is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is potentially serious.

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).

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