FriendTimes (HKG:6820) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 40%, after some slippage. 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.

Assuming no other changes, a sharply higher share price makes a stock less attractive to potential buyers. While the market sentiment towards a stock is very changeable, in the long run, the share price will tend to move in the same direction as earnings per share. 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). A high P/E ratio means that investors have a high expectation about future growth, while a low P/E ratio means they have low expectations about future growth.

View our latest analysis for FriendTimes

Does FriendTimes Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

FriendTimes's P/E of 5.73 indicates relatively low sentiment towards the stock. If you look at the image below, you can see FriendTimes has a lower P/E than the average (13.0) in the entertainment industry classification.

Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that FriendTimes shareholders think it will struggle to do as well as other companies in its industry classification. Since the market seems unimpressed with FriendTimes, it's quite possible it could surprise on the upside. You should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

Generally speaking the rate of earnings growth has a profound impact on a company's P/E multiple. When earnings grow, the 'E' increases, over time. Therefore, even if you pay a high multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become lower in the future. So while a stock may look expensive based on past earnings, it could be cheap based on future earnings.

FriendTimes's earnings made like a rocket, taking off 132% last year. The sweetener is that the annual five year growth rate of 37% is also impressive. With that kind of growth rate we would generally expect a high P/E ratio.

Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet

The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.

Such expenditure might be good or bad, in the long term, but the point here is that the balance sheet is not reflected by this ratio.