Should You Be Adding Truly International Holdings (HKG:732) To Your Watchlist Today?

Investors are often guided by the idea of discovering 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without any revenue, let alone profit. Sometimes these stories can cloud the minds of investors, leading them to invest with their emotions rather than on the merit of good company fundamentals. A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.

In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like Truly International Holdings (HKG:732), which has not only revenues, but also profits. While this doesn't necessarily speak to whether it's undervalued, the profitability of the business is enough to warrant some appreciation - especially if its growing.

Check out our latest analysis for Truly International Holdings

Truly International Holdings' Improving Profits

Truly International Holdings has undergone a massive growth in earnings per share over the last three years. So much so that this three year growth rate wouldn't be a fair assessment of the company's future. Thus, it makes sense to focus on more recent growth rates, instead. Truly International Holdings boosted its trailing twelve month EPS from HK$0.31 to HK$0.35, in the last year. This amounts to a 15% gain; a figure that shareholders will be pleased to see.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. Unfortunately, revenue is down and so are margins. That will not make it easy to grow profits, to say the least.

In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. For finer detail, click on the image.

Of course the knack is to find stocks that have their best days in the future, not in the past. You could base your opinion on past performance, of course, but you may also want to check this interactive graph of professional analyst EPS forecasts for Truly International Holdings.

Are Truly International Holdings Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Insider interest in a company always sparks a bit of intrigue and many investors are on the lookout for companies where insiders are putting their money where their mouth is. This view is based on the possibility that stock purchases signal bullishness on behalf of the buyer. Of course, we can never be sure what insiders are thinking, we can only judge their actions.

It's worth noting that there was some insider selling of Truly International Holdings shares last year, worth HK$2.2m. This falls short of the share acquisition by Non-Executive Director Bei Bei Song, who has acquired HK$2.8m worth of shares, at an average price of HK$1.40. So, on balance, that's positive.

These recent buys aren't the only encouraging sign for shareholders, as a look at the shareholder registry for Truly International Holdings will reveal that insiders own a significant piece of the pie. Actually, with 48% of the company to their names, insiders are profoundly invested in the business. Those who are comforted by solid insider ownership like this should be happy, as it implies that those running the business are genuinely motivated to create shareholder value. With that sort of holding, insiders have about HK$1.6b riding on the stock, at current prices. That's nothing to sneeze at!

Should You Add Truly International Holdings To Your Watchlist?

As previously touched on, Truly International Holdings is a growing business, which is encouraging. Better yet, insiders are significant shareholders, and have been buying more shares. These factors alone make the company an interesting prospect for your watchlist, as well as continuing research. We should say that we've discovered 2 warning signs for Truly International Holdings that you should be aware of before investing here.

The good news is that Truly International Holdings is not the only growth stock with insider buying. Here's a list of them... with insider buying in the last three months!

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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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.