There's No Escaping CBAK Energy Technology, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:CBAT) Muted Earnings Despite A 32% Share Price Rise

CBAK Energy Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBAT) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 32% gain in the last month alone. Still, the 30-day jump doesn't change the fact that longer term shareholders have seen their stock decimated by the 52% share price drop in the last twelve months.

Although its price has surged higher, given close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") above 16x, you may still consider CBAK Energy Technology as a highly attractive investment with its 4.4x P/E ratio. However, the P/E might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

As an illustration, earnings have deteriorated at CBAK Energy Technology over the last year, which is not ideal at all. It might be that many expect the disappointing earnings performance to continue or accelerate, which has repressed the P/E. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

Check out our latest analysis for CBAK Energy Technology

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We don't have analyst forecasts, but you can see how recent trends are setting up the company for the future by checking out our free report on CBAK Energy Technology's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

How Is CBAK Energy Technology's Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, CBAK Energy Technology would need to produce anemic growth that's substantially trailing the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 6.4%. Unfortunately, that's brought it right back to where it started three years ago with EPS growth being virtually non-existent overall during that time. Therefore, it's fair to say that earnings growth has been inconsistent recently for the company.

This is in contrast to the rest of the market, which is expected to grow by 8.9% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

With this information, we can see why CBAK Energy Technology is trading at a P/E lower than the market. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Final Word

Shares in CBAK Energy Technology are going to need a lot more upward momentum to get the company's P/E out of its slump. It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

As we suspected, our examination of CBAK Energy Technology revealed its three-year earnings trends are contributing to its low P/E, given they look worse than current market expectations. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for CBAK Energy Technology you should know about.

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 P/E ratio below 20x).

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.

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