Earnings Not Telling The Story For Pentamaster International Limited (HKG:1665) After Shares Rise 27%

Pentamaster International Limited (HKG:1665) shareholders have had their patience rewarded with a 27% share price jump in the last month. Not all shareholders will be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down a very disappointing 18% in the last twelve months.

Even after such a large jump in price, you could still be forgiven for feeling indifferent about Pentamaster International's P/E ratio of 9x, since the median price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio in Hong Kong is also close to 10x. However, investors might be overlooking a clear opportunity or potential setback if there is no rational basis for the P/E.

While the market has experienced earnings growth lately, Pentamaster International's earnings have gone into reverse gear, which is not great. It might be that many expect the dour earnings performance to strengthen positively, which has kept the P/E from falling. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for Pentamaster International

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Is There Some Growth For Pentamaster International?

Pentamaster International's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver moderate growth, and importantly, perform in line with the market.

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 15%. Unfortunately, that's brought it right back to where it started three years ago with EPS growth being virtually non-existent overall during that time. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 12% as estimated by the two analysts watching the company. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 23% growth forecast for the broader market.

In light of this, it's curious that Pentamaster International's P/E sits in line with the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited growth expectations and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. These shareholders may be setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.

The Bottom Line On Pentamaster International's P/E

Its shares have lifted substantially and now Pentamaster International's P/E is also back up to the market median. We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

We've established that Pentamaster International currently trades on a higher than expected P/E since its forecast growth is lower than the wider market. Right now we are uncomfortable with the P/E as the predicted future earnings aren't likely to support a more positive sentiment for long. This places shareholders' investments at risk and potential investors in danger of paying an unnecessary premium.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Pentamaster International that you should be aware of.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Pentamaster International. 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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