Why China Communications Construction Company Limited (HKG:1800) Could Be Worth Watching

China Communications Construction Company Limited (HKG:1800) received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the SEHK over the last few months, increasing to HK$4.71 at one point, and dropping to the lows of HK$4.00. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether China Communications Construction's current trading price of HK$4.06 reflective of the actual value of the large-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at China Communications Construction’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

View our latest analysis for China Communications Construction

What's the opportunity in China Communications Construction?

The share price seems sensible at the moment according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. I’ve used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there’s not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock’s ratio of 3.62x is currently trading slightly below its industry peers’ ratio of 7.79x, which means if you buy China Communications Construction today, you’d be paying a reasonable price for it. And if you believe China Communications Construction should be trading in this range, then there isn’t much room for the share price to grow beyond the levels of other industry peers over the long-term. In addition to this, it seems like China Communications Construction’s share price is quite stable, which could mean there may be less chances to buy low in the future now that it’s trading around the price multiples of other industry peers. This is because the stock is less volatile than the wider market given its low beta.

What does the future of China Communications Construction look like?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. With profit expected to grow by 61% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for China Communications Construction. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.

What this means for you:

Are you a shareholder? 1800’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at 1800? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuate below the industry PE ratio?

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on 1800, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for 1800, which means it’s worth further examining other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

So if you'd like to dive deeper into this stock, it's crucial to consider any risks it's facing. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for China Communications Construction you should be mindful of and 1 of these shouldn't be ignored.

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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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