Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Company Limited (HKG:3692) Investors Are Less Pessimistic Than Expected

With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 21.1x Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Company Limited (HKG:3692) may be sending very bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in Hong Kong have P/E ratios under 9x and even P/E's lower than 5x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings more than most other companies. It seems that many are expecting the strong earnings performance to persist, which has raised the P/E. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group.

Is There Enough Growth For Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group?

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

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 83%. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 78% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest earnings growth is heading into negative territory, declining 2.6% each year over the next three years. Meanwhile, the broader market is forecast to expand by 12% each year, which paints a poor picture.

In light of this, it's alarming that Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects, but the analyst cohort is not so confident this will happen. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as these declining earnings are likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.

The Bottom Line On Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group's P/E

While the price-to-earnings ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of earnings expectations.

We've established that Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group currently trades on a much higher than expected P/E for a company whose earnings are forecast to decline. Right now we are increasingly uncomfortable with the high P/E as the predicted future earnings are highly unlikely to support such positive sentiment for long. This places shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.

Before you take the next step, you should know about the 1 warning sign for Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group that we have uncovered.

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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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.