YesAsia Holdings Limited (HKG:2209) Stock's 26% Dive Might Signal An Opportunity But It Requires Some Scrutiny

YesAsia Holdings Limited (HKG:2209) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 26% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. Longer-term shareholders will rue the drop in the share price, since it's now virtually flat for the year after a promising few quarters.

Even after such a large drop in price, you could still be forgiven for feeling indifferent about YesAsia Holdings' P/E ratio of 11.3x, since the median price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio in Hong Kong is also close to 13x. 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.

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Recent times have been advantageous for YesAsia 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 not, then existing shareholders have reason to be feeling optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

See our latest analysis for YesAsia Holdings

Keen to find out how analysts think YesAsia Holdings' future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

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 YesAsia Holdings' to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 25% last year. Still, EPS has barely risen at all from three years ago in total, which is not ideal. Therefore, it's fair to say that earnings growth has been inconsistent recently for the company.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 43% per year during the coming three years according to the sole analyst following the company. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 15% each year growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we find it interesting that YesAsia Holdings is trading at a fairly similar P/E to the market. Apparently some shareholders are skeptical of the forecasts and have been accepting lower selling prices.

The Key Takeaway

Following YesAsia Holdings' share price tumble, its P/E is now hanging on to the median market P/E. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

Our examination of YesAsia Holdings' analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook isn't contributing to its P/E as much as we would have predicted. There could be some unobserved threats to earnings preventing the P/E ratio from matching the positive outlook. At least the risk of a price drop looks to be subdued, but investors seem to think future earnings could see some volatility.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with YesAsia Holdings, and understanding should be part of your investment process.

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 low P/E.

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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.