Is Want Want China Holdings Limited’s (HKG:151) PE Ratio A Signal To Sell For Investors?
Want Want China Holdings Limited (SEHK:151) trades with a trailing P/E of 22.8x, which is higher than the industry average of 14.5x. While this makes 151 appear like a stock to avoid or sell if you own it, you might change your mind after I explain the assumptions behind the P/E ratio. In this article, I will break down what the P/E ratio is, how to interpret it and what to watch out for. Check out our latest analysis for Want Want China Holdings
Breaking down the Price-Earnings ratio
The P/E ratio is one of many ratios used in relative valuation. It compares a stock’s price per share to the stock’s earnings per share. A more intuitive way of understanding the P/E ratio is to think of it as how much investors are paying for each dollar of the company’s earnings.
P/E Calculation for 151
Price-Earnings Ratio = Price per share ÷ Earnings per share
151 Price-Earnings Ratio = CN¥5.82 ÷ CN¥0.255 = 22.8x
The P/E ratio itself doesn’t tell you a lot; however, it becomes very insightful when you compare it with other similar companies. Our goal is to compare the stock’s P/E ratio to the average of companies that have similar attributes to 151, such as company lifetime and products sold. A common peer group is companies that exist in the same industry, which is what I use. At 22.8x, 151’s P/E is higher than its industry peers (14.5x). This implies that investors are overvaluing each dollar of 151’s earnings. As such, our analysis shows that 151 represents an over-priced stock.
Assumptions to watch out for
Before you jump to the conclusion that 151 should be banished from your portfolio, it is important to realise that our conclusion rests on two assertions. The first is that our “similar companies” are actually similar to 151, or else the difference in P/E might be a result of other factors. For example, if you are comparing lower risk firms with 151, then its P/E would naturally be lower than its peers, as investors would value those with lower risk at a higher price. The second assumption that must hold true is that the stocks we are comparing 151 to are fairly valued by the market. If this does not hold true, 151’s lower P/E ratio may be because firms in our peer group are overvalued by the market.
What this means for you:
You may have already conducted fundamental analysis on the stock as a shareholder, so its current overvaluation could signal a potential selling opportunity to reduce your exposure to 151. Now that you understand the ins and outs of the PE metric, you should know to bear in mind its limitations before you make an investment decision. Remember that basing your investment decision off one metric alone is certainly not sufficient. There are many things I have not taken into account in this article and the PE ratio is very one-dimensional. If you have not done so already, I highly recommend you to complete your research by taking a look at the following:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for 151’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for 151’s outlook.
Past Track Record: Has 151 been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of 151’s historicals for more clarity.
Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.
To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.
