Typically for cyclical stocks, the strategy is to buy at high P/E ratios and sell at low P/E ratios on a trailing basis.
This is because the market is generally forward looking. When a cyclical stock hits the bottom of its cycle, earnings collapse. The stock price may have already started recovering in anticipation of a turnaround, but earnings are still weak — so the P/E ratio appears high.
At the peak of a cycle, companies are making record profits. The stock may not move much because the market knows these earnings are unsustainable — yet they make the P/E ratio look low.
With a high p/e, you're not really buying when the stock is expensive, you're buying when earnings are temporarily in the gutter. And the reverse can be said for a low p/e.