What Is China Aluminum Cans Holdings's (HKG:6898) P/E Ratio After Its Share Price Tanked?

To the annoyance of some shareholders, China Aluminum Cans Holdings (HKG:6898) shares are down a considerable 34% in the last month. And that drop will have no doubt have some shareholders concerned that the 68% share price decline, over the last year, has turned them into bagholders. For those wondering, a bagholder is someone who keeps holding a losing stock indefinitely, without taking the time to consider its prospects carefully, going forward.

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. Perhaps the simplest way to get a read on investors' expectations of a business is to look at its Price to Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio). Investors have optimistic expectations of companies with higher P/E ratios, compared to companies with lower P/E ratios.

Check out our latest analysis for China Aluminum Cans Holdings

Does China Aluminum Cans Holdings Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

We can tell from its P/E ratio of 4.58 that sentiment around China Aluminum Cans Holdings isn't particularly high. If you look at the image below, you can see China Aluminum Cans Holdings has a lower P/E than the average (10.0) in the packaging industry classification.

Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that China Aluminum Cans Holdings shareholders think it will struggle to do as well as other companies in its industry classification. Many investors like to buy stocks when the market is pessimistic about their prospects. You should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

Companies that shrink earnings per share quickly will rapidly decrease the 'E' in the equation. Therefore, even if you pay a low multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become higher in the future. Then, a higher P/E might scare off shareholders, pushing the share price down.

It's nice to see that China Aluminum Cans Holdings grew EPS by a stonking 31% in the last year. But earnings per share are down 11% per year over the last five years.

A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank

It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. 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 spending might be good or bad, overall, but the key point here is that you need to look at debt to understand the P/E ratio in context.

Is Debt Impacting China Aluminum Cans Holdings's P/E?

With net cash of HK$64m, China Aluminum Cans Holdings has a very strong balance sheet, which may be important for its business. Having said that, at 18% of its market capitalization the cash hoard would contribute towards a higher P/E ratio.

The Verdict On China Aluminum Cans Holdings's P/E Ratio

China Aluminum Cans Holdings's P/E is 4.6 which is below average (10.4) in the HK market. It grew its EPS nicely over the last year, and the healthy balance sheet implies there is more potential for growth. One might conclude that the market is a bit pessimistic, given the low P/E ratio. Given China Aluminum Cans Holdings's P/E ratio has declined from 6.9 to 4.6 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 to invest with the flow of momentum, that might be a bad sign, but for deep value investors this stock might justify some research.

Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. As value investor Benjamin Graham famously said, 'In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine. 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 China Aluminum Cans Holdings. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly.

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.

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. Thank you for reading.