Tsann Kuen (China) Enterprise Co., Ltd.'s (SZSE:200512) Share Price Boosted 34% But Its Business Prospects Need A Lift Too

Tsann Kuen (China) Enterprise Co., Ltd. (SZSE:200512) shareholders have had their patience rewarded with a 34% share price jump in the last month. The last 30 days bring the annual gain to a very sharp 37%.

Even after such a large jump in price, Tsann Kuen (China) Enterprise's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 7.5x might still make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the market in China, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 32x and even P/E's above 62x are quite common. However, the P/E might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Tsann Kuen (China) Enterprise has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings at a solid pace. It might be that many expect the respectable earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

See our latest analysis for Tsann Kuen (China) Enterprise

Although there are no analyst estimates available for Tsann Kuen (China) Enterprise, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/E?

Tsann Kuen (China) Enterprise's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very poor growth or even falling earnings, and importantly, perform much worse than the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow earnings per share by a handy 11% last year. However, this wasn't enough as the latest three year period has seen an unpleasant 42% overall drop in EPS. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the market is expected to grow by 37% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term earnings decline into perspective.

In light of this, it's understandable that Tsann Kuen (China) Enterprise's P/E would sit below the majority of other companies. 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.

What We Can Learn From Tsann Kuen (China) Enterprise's P/E?

Tsann Kuen (China) Enterprise's recent share price jump still sees its P/E sitting firmly flat on the ground. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

We've established that Tsann Kuen (China) Enterprise maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its sliding earnings over the medium-term, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 4 warning signs with Tsann Kuen (China) Enterprise (at least 1 which doesn't sit too well with us), and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on a low P/E.

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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.