Yuexiu Property Company Limited (HKG:123), which is in the real estate business, and is based in Hong Kong, saw a decent share price growth in the teens level on the SEHK over the last few months. With many analysts covering the mid-cap stock, we may expect any price-sensitive announcements have already been factored into the stock’s share price. But what if there is still an opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Yuexiu Property’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

See our latest analysis for Yuexiu Property

Is Yuexiu Property still cheap?

The share price seems sensible at the moment according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. In this instance, I’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. I find that Yuexiu Property’s ratio of 5.33x is trading slightly below its industry peers’ ratio of 5.86x, which means if you buy Yuexiu Property today, you’d be paying a decent price for it. And if you believe that Yuexiu Property should be trading at this level in the long run, then there’s not much of an upside to gain over and above other industry peers. So, is there another chance to buy low in the future? Given that Yuexiu Property’s share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us an opportunity to buy later on. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.

What does the future of Yuexiu Property look like?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Yuexiu Property’s earnings over the next few years are expected to increase by 55%, indicating a highly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to more robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

What this means for you:

Are you a shareholder? 123’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at 123? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuate below the industry PE ratio?