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Is Chinney Kin Wing Holdings Limited's (HKG:1556) P/E Ratio Really That Good?

The goal of this article is to teach you how to use price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). To keep it practical, we'll show how Chinney Kin Wing Holdings Limited's (HKG:1556) P/E ratio could help you assess the value on offer. Looking at earnings over the last twelve months, Chinney Kin Wing Holdings has a P/E ratio of 5.45. That means that at current prices, buyers pay HK$5.45 for every HK$1 in trailing yearly profits.

See our latest analysis for Chinney Kin Wing Holdings

How Do You Calculate A P/E Ratio?

The formula for P/E is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price ÷ Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for Chinney Kin Wing Holdings:

P/E of 5.45 = HK$0.209 ÷ HK$0.038 (Based on the year to December 2019.)

(Note: the above calculation results may not be precise due to rounding.)

Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?

A higher P/E ratio means that investors are paying a higher price for each HK$1 of company earnings. All else being equal, it's better to pay a low price -- but as Warren Buffett said, 'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price'.

Does Chinney Kin Wing Holdings Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

The P/E ratio indicates whether the market has higher or lower expectations of a company. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (7.9) for companies in the construction industry is higher than Chinney Kin Wing Holdings's P/E.

SEHK:1556 Price Estimation Relative to Market April 6th 2020
SEHK:1556 Price Estimation Relative to Market April 6th 2020

Chinney Kin Wing Holdings's P/E tells us that market participants think it will not fare as well as its peers in the same industry. Since the market seems unimpressed with Chinney Kin Wing Holdings, it's quite possible it could surprise on the upside. It is arguably worth checking if insiders are buying shares, because that might imply they believe the stock is undervalued.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

Companies that shrink earnings per share quickly will rapidly decrease the 'E' in the equation. That means unless the share price falls, the P/E will increase in a few years. So while a stock may look cheap based on past earnings, it could be expensive based on future earnings.

Chinney Kin Wing Holdings maintained roughly steady earnings over the last twelve months. And over the longer term (5 years) earnings per share have decreased 15% annually. So we might expect a relatively low P/E.

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

It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. Hypothetically, a company could reduce its future P/E ratio by spending its cash (or taking on debt) to achieve higher earnings.

Such spending might be good or bad, overall, but the key point here is that you need to look at debt to understand the P/E ratio in context.

Chinney Kin Wing Holdings's Balance Sheet

Chinney Kin Wing Holdings has net cash of HK$55m. This is fairly high at 17% of its market capitalization. That might mean balance sheet strength is important to the business, but should also help push the P/E a bit higher than it would otherwise be.

The Verdict On Chinney Kin Wing Holdings's P/E Ratio

Chinney Kin Wing Holdings's P/E is 5.4 which is below average (9.1) in the HK market. The recent drop in earnings per share would make investors cautious, but the net cash position means the company has time to improve: if so, the low P/E could be an opportunity.

Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. If it is underestimating a company, investors can make money by buying and holding the shares until the market corrects itself. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Of course you might be able to find a better stock than Chinney Kin Wing Holdings. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.