With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 64.6x Dongfeng Electronic Technology Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:600081) may be sending very bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in China have P/E ratios under 33x and even P/E's lower than 19x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.
For example, consider that Dongfeng Electronic TechnologyLtd's financial performance has been poor lately as its earnings have been in decline. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think the company will still do enough to outperform the broader market in the near future. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.
See our latest analysis for Dongfeng Electronic TechnologyLtd
SHSE:600081 Price to Earnings Ratio vs Industry January 9th 2024 Although there are no analyst estimates available for Dongfeng Electronic TechnologyLtd, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.
What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The High P/E?
Dongfeng Electronic TechnologyLtd's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 55% decrease to the company's bottom line. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 65% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.
In contrast to the company, the rest of the market is expected to grow by 43% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term earnings decline into perspective.
In light of this, it's alarming that Dongfeng Electronic TechnologyLtd's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the recent poor growth rate and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as a continuation of recent earnings trends is likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.
The Final Word
Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.
We've established that Dongfeng Electronic TechnologyLtd currently trades on a much higher than expected P/E since its recent earnings have been in decline over the medium-term. Right now we are increasingly uncomfortable with the high P/E as this earnings performance is highly unlikely to support such positive sentiment for long. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it will place shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.
Having said that, be aware Dongfeng Electronic TechnologyLtd is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, you should know about.
If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Dongfeng Electronic TechnologyLtd, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.
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