Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Creative China Holdings Limited (HKG:8368) share price has dived 28% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. The recent drop completes a disastrous twelve months for shareholders, who are sitting on a 64% loss during that time.
In spite of the heavy fall in price, Creative China Holdings may still be sending bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 7x, since almost half of all companies in Hong Kong have P/E ratios greater than 11x and even P/E's higher than 23x are not unusual. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.
We've discovered 3 warning signs about Creative China Holdings. View them for free.For example, consider that Creative China Holdings' financial performance has been poor lately as its earnings have been in decline. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think the company won't do enough to avoid underperforming the broader market in the near future. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.
View our latest analysis for Creative China Holdings
How Is Creative China Holdings' Growth Trending?
There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the market for P/E ratios like Creative China Holdings' to be considered reasonable.
If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 60%. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 47% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.
Weighing that medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 18% shows it's an unpleasant look.
With this information, we are not surprised that Creative China Holdings is trading at a P/E lower than the market. However, we think shrinking earnings are unlikely to lead to a stable P/E over the longer term, which could set up shareholders for future disappointment. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as recent earnings trends are already weighing down the shares.
The Final Word
Creative China Holdings' P/E has taken a tumble along with its share price. Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.
As we suspected, our examination of Creative China Holdings revealed its shrinking earnings over the medium-term are contributing to its low P/E, given the market is set to grow. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.
It is also worth noting that we have found 3 warning signs for Creative China Holdings that you need to take into consideration.
Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Creative China Holdings. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.