Orient Victory Smart urban Services Holding Limited (HKG:265) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 26% gain and recovering from prior weakness. Not all shareholders will be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down a very disappointing 45% in the last twelve months.
Since its price has surged higher, Orient Victory Smart urban Services Holding's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 17.5x might make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in Hong Kong, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 9x and even P/E's below 5x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.
With earnings growth that's exceedingly strong of late, Orient Victory Smart urban Services Holding has been doing very well. The P/E is probably high because investors think this strong earnings growth will be enough to outperform the broader market in the near future. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.
Check out our latest analysis for Orient Victory Smart urban Services Holding
How Is Orient Victory Smart urban Services Holding's Growth Trending?
The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as steep as Orient Victory Smart urban Services Holding's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market decidedly.
If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 497%. Although, its longer-term performance hasn't been as strong with three-year EPS growth being relatively non-existent overall. Therefore, it's fair to say that earnings growth has been inconsistent recently for the company.
This is in contrast to the rest of the market, which is expected to grow by 20% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.
With this information, we find it concerning that Orient Victory Smart urban Services Holding is trading at a P/E higher than the market. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than recent times would indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. There's a good chance existing shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with recent growth rates.
The Key Takeaway
Shares in Orient Victory Smart urban Services Holding have built up some good momentum lately, which has really inflated its P/E. We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.
Our examination of Orient Victory Smart urban Services Holding revealed its three-year earnings trends aren't impacting its high P/E anywhere near as much as we would have predicted, given they look worse than current market expectations. When we see weak earnings with slower than market growth, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, sending the high P/E lower. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve markedly, it's very challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.
Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Orient Victory Smart urban Services Holding that you should be aware of.
If you're unsure about the strength of Orient Victory Smart urban Services Holding's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.
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