More Unpleasant Surprises Could Be In Store For Kwong Man Kee Group Limited's (HKG:8023) Shares After Tumbling 28%

Kwong Man Kee Group Limited (HKG:8023) shareholders that were waiting for something to happen have been dealt a blow with a 28% share price drop in the last month. Instead of being rewarded, shareholders who have already held through the last twelve months are now sitting on a 14% share price drop.

Even after such a large drop in price, Kwong Man Kee Group's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 14.7x might still make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in Hong Kong, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 9x and even P/E's below 5x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

As an illustration, earnings have deteriorated at Kwong Man Kee Group over the last year, which is not ideal at all. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think the company will still do enough to outperform the broader market in the near future. If not, then existing shareholders may be quite nervous about the viability of the share price.

See our latest analysis for Kwong Man Kee Group

Although there are no analyst estimates available for Kwong Man Kee Group, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.

How Is Kwong Man Kee Group's Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like Kwong Man Kee Group's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 27%. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 11% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Weighing that medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 22% shows it's an unpleasant look.

With this information, we find it concerning that Kwong Man Kee Group is trading at a P/E higher than the market. It seems most investors are ignoring the recent poor growth rate and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. There's a very good chance existing shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with the recent negative growth rates.

What We Can Learn From Kwong Man Kee Group's P/E?

Even after such a strong price drop, Kwong Man Kee Group's P/E still exceeds the rest of the market significantly. 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 Kwong Man Kee Group currently trades on a much higher than expected P/E since its recent earnings have been in decline over the medium-term. Right now we are increasingly uncomfortable with the high P/E as this earnings performance is highly unlikely to support such positive sentiment for long. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it will place shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 1 warning sign for Kwong Man Kee Group that you need to be mindful of.

You might be able to find a better investment than Kwong Man Kee Group. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.