The Price Is Right For China Overseas Property Holdings Limited (HKG:2669) Even After Diving 35%

China Overseas Property Holdings Limited (HKG:2669) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 35% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. The recent drop completes a disastrous twelve months for shareholders, who are sitting on a 52% loss during that time.

Although its price has dipped substantially, there still wouldn't be many who think China Overseas Property Holdings' price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 10.4x is worth a mention when the median P/E in Hong Kong is similar at about 9x. Although, it's not wise to simply ignore the P/E without explanation as investors may be disregarding a distinct opportunity or a costly mistake.

Recent times have been advantageous for China Overseas Property Holdings as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/E is moderate because investors think this strong earnings performance might be about to tail off. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's not quite in favour.

Check out our latest analysis for China Overseas Property Holdings

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on China Overseas Property Holdings.

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

There's an inherent assumption that a company should be matching the market for P/E ratios like China Overseas Property Holdings' to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow earnings per share by a handy 5.4% last year. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 92% overall rise in EPS, aided somewhat by its short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 17% each year during the coming three years according to the analysts following the company. That's shaping up to be similar to the 16% per year growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we can see why China Overseas Property Holdings is trading at a fairly similar P/E to the market. It seems most investors are expecting to see average future growth and are only willing to pay a moderate amount for the stock.

What We Can Learn From China Overseas Property Holdings' P/E?

China Overseas Property Holdings' plummeting stock price has brought its P/E right back to the rest of the market. 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.

As we suspected, our examination of China Overseas Property Holdings' analyst forecasts revealed that its market-matching earnings outlook is contributing to its current P/E. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings won't throw up any surprises. It's hard to see the share price moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 2 warning signs for China Overseas Property Holdings you should be aware of.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than China Overseas Property Holdings. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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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.