What Is APT Satellite Holdings's (HKG:1045) P/E Ratio After Its Share Price Tanked?
Unfortunately for some shareholders, the APT Satellite Holdings (HKG:1045) share price has dived 30% in the last thirty days. Even longer term holders have taken a real hit with the stock declining 26% in the last year.
Assuming nothing else has changed, a lower share price makes a stock more attractive to potential buyers. In the long term, share prices tend to follow earnings per share, but in the short term prices bounce around in response to short term factors (which are not always obvious). So, on certain occasions, long term focussed investors try to take advantage of pessimistic expectations to buy shares at a better price. One way to gauge market expectations of a stock is to look at its Price to Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio). A high P/E ratio means that investors have a high expectation about future growth, while a low P/E ratio means they have low expectations about future growth.
Check out our latest analysis for APT Satellite Holdings
Does APT Satellite Holdings Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?
APT Satellite Holdings's P/E of 6.68 indicates relatively low sentiment towards the stock. The image below shows that APT Satellite Holdings has a lower P/E than the average (12.7) P/E for companies in the telecom industry.
Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that APT Satellite Holdings shareholders think it will struggle to do as well as other companies in its industry classification. While current expectations are low, the stock could be undervalued if the situation is better than the market assumes. You should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
When earnings fall, the 'E' decreases, over time. That means even if the current P/E is low, it will increase over time if the share price stays flat. Then, a higher P/E might scare off shareholders, pushing the share price down.
APT Satellite Holdings saw earnings per share decrease by 29% last year. And over the longer term (5 years) earnings per share have decreased 6.5% annually. This could justify a pessimistic P/E.
Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits
Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future) by investing in growth. That means taking on debt (or spending its cash).
Such expenditure might be good or bad, in the long term, but the point here is that the balance sheet is not reflected by this ratio.
How Does APT Satellite Holdings's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?
With net cash of HK$929m, APT Satellite Holdings has a very strong balance sheet, which may be important for its business. Having said that, at 39% of its market capitalization the cash hoard would contribute towards a higher P/E ratio.
The Verdict On APT Satellite Holdings's P/E Ratio
APT Satellite Holdings has a P/E of 6.7. That's below the average in the HK market, which is 9.2. Falling earnings per share are likely to be keeping potential buyers away, the relatively strong balance sheet will allow the company time to invest in growth. If it achieves that, then there's real potential that the low P/E could eventually indicate undervaluation. Given APT Satellite Holdings's P/E ratio has declined from 9.6 to 6.7 in the last month, we know for sure that the market is more worried about the business today, than it was back then. For those who prefer invest in growth, this stock apparently offers limited promise, but the deep value investors may find the pessimism around this stock enticing.
Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. If it is underestimating a company, investors can make money by buying and holding the shares until the market corrects itself. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Of course you might be able to find a better stock than APT Satellite Holdings. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
