Market Participants Recognise Sino-Ocean Service Holding Limited's (HKG:6677) Earnings Pushing Shares 27% Higher

Sino-Ocean Service Holding Limited (HKG:6677) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 27% in the last month, although it is still struggling to make up recently lost ground. Longer-term shareholders would be thankful for the recovery in the share price since it's now virtually flat for the year after the recent bounce.

Since its price has surged higher, Sino-Ocean Service Holding's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 14.5x might make it look like a sell right now compared to the market in Hong Kong, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 11x and even P/E's below 6x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/E.

Recent times have been advantageous for Sino-Ocean Service Holding as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. The P/E is probably high because investors think this strong earnings performance will continue. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

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Is There Enough Growth For Sino-Ocean Service Holding?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should outperform the market for P/E ratios like Sino-Ocean Service Holding's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a worthy increase of 11%. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 120% overall rise in EPS, aided somewhat by its short-term performance. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 33% per year during the coming three years according to the three analysts following the company. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 20% per year growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we can see why Sino-Ocean Service Holding is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

The Bottom Line On Sino-Ocean Service Holding's P/E

Sino-Ocean Service Holding shares have received a push in the right direction, but its P/E is elevated too. Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

We've established that Sino-Ocean Service Holding maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Many other vital risk factors can be found on the company's balance sheet. Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis for Sino-Ocean Service Holding with six simple checks on some of these key factors.

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 P/E below 20x.

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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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