For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. Loss making companies can act like a sponge for capital - so investors should be cautious that they're not throwing good money after bad.
In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like PlayWay (WSE:PLW), which has not only revenues, but also profits. Even if this company is fairly valued by the market, investors would agree that generating consistent profits will continue to provide PlayWay with the means to add long-term value to shareholders.
Our analysis indicates that PLW is potentially overvalued!
How Fast Is PlayWay Growing?
If a company can keep growing earnings per share (EPS) long enough, its share price should eventually follow. That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. Impressively, PlayWay has grown EPS by 31% per year, compound, in the last three years. As a general rule, we'd say that if a company can keep up that sort of growth, shareholders will be beaming.
Top-line growth is a great indicator that growth is sustainable, and combined with a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin, it's a great way for a company to maintain a competitive advantage in the market. The music to the ears of PlayWay shareholders is that EBIT margins have grown from 66% to 68% in the last 12 months and revenues are on an upwards trend as well. Ticking those two boxes is a good sign of growth, in our book.
You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.
Fortunately, we've got access to analyst forecasts of PlayWay's future profits. You can do your own forecasts without looking, or you can take a peek at what the professionals are predicting.
Are PlayWay Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
Seeing insiders owning a large portion of the shares on issue is often a good sign. Their incentives will be aligned with the investors and there's less of a probability in a sudden sell-off that would impact the share price. So as you can imagine, the fact that PlayWay insiders own a significant number of shares certainly is appealing. In fact, they own 41% of the shares, making insiders a very influential shareholder group. 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. To give you an idea, the value of insiders' holdings in the business are valued at zł875m at the current share price. That should be more than enough to keep them focussed on creating shareholder value!
Should You Add PlayWay To Your Watchlist?
For growth investors, PlayWay's raw rate of earnings growth is a beacon in the night. Further, the high level of insider ownership is impressive and suggests that the management appreciates the EPS growth and has faith in PlayWay's continuing strength. Fast growth and confident insiders should be enough to warrant further research, so it would seem that it's a good stock to follow. Even so, be aware that PlayWay is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...
The beauty of investing is that you can invest in almost any company you want. But if you prefer to focus on stocks that have demonstrated insider buying, here is a list of companies 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.
About WSE:PLW
Solid track record with excellent balance sheet.
