What Is Yin He Holdings's (HKG:8260) P/E Ratio After Its Share Price Rocketed?
Yin He Holdings (HKG:8260) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 47% in the last month alone, although it is still down 15% over the last quarter. However, that doesn't change the fact that longer term shareholders might have been mercilessly wrecked by the 51% share price decline throughout the year.
Assuming no other changes, a sharply higher share price makes a stock less attractive to potential buyers. While the market sentiment towards a stock is very changeable, in the long run, the share price will tend to move in the same direction as earnings per share. The implication here is that deep value investors might steer clear when expectations of a company are too high. 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). 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 Yin He Holdings
How Does Yin He Holdings's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?
Yin He Holdings's P/E of 16.73 indicates relatively low sentiment towards the stock. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (20.7) for companies in the professional services industry is higher than Yin He Holdings's P/E.
Yin He Holdings's P/E tells us that market participants think it will not fare as well as its peers in the same industry. Since the market seems unimpressed with Yin He Holdings, it's quite possible it could surprise on the upside. You should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
If earnings fall then in the future the 'E' will be lower. 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.
Yin He Holdings saw earnings per share decrease by 62% last year. But over the longer term (5 years) earnings per share have increased by 60%. And over the longer term (3 years) earnings per share have decreased 29% annually. This growth rate might warrant a low P/E ratio.
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. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. 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.
Is Debt Impacting Yin He Holdings's P/E?
Net debt totals 22% of Yin He Holdings's market cap. This could bring some additional risk, and reduce the number of investment options for management; worth remembering if you compare its P/E to businesses without debt.
The Verdict On Yin He Holdings's P/E Ratio
Yin He Holdings trades on a P/E ratio of 16.7, which is above its market average of 10.3. With some debt but no EPS growth last year, the market has high expectations of future profits. What we know for sure is that investors have become much more excited about Yin He Holdings recently, since they have pushed its P/E ratio from 11.4 to 16.7 over the last month. For those who prefer to invest with the flow of momentum, that might mean it's time to put the stock on a watchlist, or research it. But the contrarian may see it as a missed opportunity.
When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. 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. Although we don't have analyst forecasts you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
You might be able to find a better buy than Yin He Holdings. If you want a selection of possible winners, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20 (but have proven they can grow earnings).
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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.
