REM Group (Holdings) Limited’s (HKG:1750) price-to-earnings (or “P/E”) ratio of 7.4x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the market in Hong Kong, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 11x and even P/E’s above 22x are quite common. Nonetheless, we’d need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/E.
Earnings have risen at a steady rate over the last year for REM Group (Holdings), which is generally not a bad outcome. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this good earnings growth might actually underperform the broader market in the near future. If that doesn’t eventuate, then existing shareholders may have reason to be optimistic about the future direction of the share price.
View our latest analysis for REM Group (Holdings)
Does Growth Match The Low P/E?
In order to justify its P/E ratio, REM Group (Holdings) would need to produce sluggish growth that’s trailing the market.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 4.8% gain to the company’s bottom line. Ultimately though, it couldn’t turn around the poor performance of the prior period, with EPS shrinking 66% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it’s fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.
Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 9.6% growth in the next 12 months, the company’s downward momentum based on recent medium-term earnings results is a sobering picture.
In light of this, it’s understandable that REM Group (Holdings)’s P/E would sit below the majority of other companies. Nonetheless, there’s no guarantee the P/E has reached a floor yet with earnings going in reverse. There’s potential for the P/E to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn’t improve its profitability.
The Final Word
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.
We’ve established that REM Group (Holdings) maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its sliding earnings over the medium-term, as expected. 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.
There are also other vital risk factors to consider and we’ve discovered 4 warning signs for REM Group (Holdings) (2 are significant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on REM Group (Holdings), explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.
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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. 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.
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