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It's really great to see that even after a strong run, Poly Property Development (HKG:6049) shares have been powering on, with a gain of 30% in the last thirty days. While recent buyers might be laughing, long term holders might not be so pleased, since the recent gain only brings the full year return to evens.
All else being equal, a sharp share price increase should make a stock less attractive to potential investors. In the long term, share prices tend to follow earnings per share, but in the short term prices bounce around in response to short term factors (which are not always obvious). The implication here is that deep value investors might steer clear when expectations of a company are too high. One way to gauge market expectations of a stock is to look at its Price to Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio). Investors have optimistic expectations of companies with higher P/E ratios, compared to companies with lower P/E ratios.
Check out our latest analysis for Poly Property Development
How Does Poly Property Development's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?
Poly Property Development's P/E of 58.74 indicates some degree of optimism towards the stock. As you can see below, Poly Property Development has a much higher P/E than the average company (6.2) in the real estate industry.
Its relatively high P/E ratio indicates that Poly Property Development shareholders think it will perform better than other companies in its industry classification. Shareholders are clearly optimistic, but the future is always uncertain. So investors should always consider the P/E ratio alongside other factors, such as whether company directors have been buying shares.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. If earnings are growing quickly, then the 'E' in the equation will increase faster than it would otherwise. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. And as that P/E ratio drops, the company will look cheap, unless its share price increases.
Poly Property Development's 97% EPS improvement over the last year was like bamboo growth after rain; rapid and impressive.
Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits
It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. Hypothetically, a company could reduce its future P/E ratio by spending its cash (or taking on debt) to achieve higher earnings.