Does Kowloon Development Company Limited's (HKG:34) P/E Ratio Signal A Buying Opportunity?

Today, we'll introduce the concept of the P/E ratio for those who are learning about investing. To keep it practical, we'll show how Kowloon Development Company Limited's (HKG:34) P/E ratio could help you assess the value on offer. Kowloon Development has a P/E ratio of 3.67, based on the last twelve months. That means that at current prices, buyers pay HK$3.67 for every HK$1 in trailing yearly profits.

View our latest analysis for Kowloon Development

How Do I Calculate Kowloon Development's Price To Earnings Ratio?

The formula for P/E is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for Kowloon Development:

P/E of 3.67 = HK$9.32 ÷ HK$2.54 (Based on the year to June 2019.)

Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?

A higher P/E ratio means that investors are paying a higher price for each HK$1 of company earnings. All else being equal, it's better to pay a low price -- but as Warren Buffett said, 'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.'

How Does Kowloon Development's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

The P/E ratio essentially measures market expectations of a company. If you look at the image below, you can see Kowloon Development has a lower P/E than the average (6.4) in the real estate industry classification.

This suggests that market participants think Kowloon Development will underperform other companies in its industry.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

P/E ratios primarily reflect market expectations around earnings growth rates. Earnings growth means that in the future the 'E' will be higher. And in that case, the P/E ratio itself will drop rather quickly. Then, a lower P/E should attract more buyers, pushing the share price up.

Notably, Kowloon Development grew EPS by a whopping 30% in the last year. And earnings per share have improved by 37% annually, over the last five years. With that performance, I would expect it to have an above average P/E ratio.

Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits

The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.

Spending on growth might be good or bad a few years later, but the point is that the P/E ratio does not account for the option (or lack thereof).

So What Does Kowloon Development's Balance Sheet Tell Us?

Kowloon Development has net debt worth a very significant 129% of its market capitalization. If you want to compare its P/E ratio to other companies, you must keep in mind that these debt levels would usually warrant a relatively low P/E.

The Verdict On Kowloon Development's P/E Ratio

Kowloon Development's P/E is 3.7 which is below average (10.7) in the HK market. The company has a meaningful amount of debt on the balance sheet, but that should not eclipse the solid earnings growth. If the company can continue to grow earnings, then the current P/E may be unjustifiably low.

Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. If the reality for a company is not as bad as the P/E ratio indicates, then the share price should increase as the market realizes this. Although we don't have analyst forecasts you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

But note: Kowloon Development may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).

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.