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How Does Byleasing Holdings's (HKG:8525) P/E Compare To Its Industry, After The Share Price Drop?

To the annoyance of some shareholders, Byleasing Holdings (HKG:8525) shares are down a considerable 59% in the last month. Even longer term holders have taken a real hit with the stock declining 20% in the last year.

All else being equal, a share price drop should make a stock more attractive to potential investors. 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 long term investors have an opportunity when expectations of a company are too low. One way to gauge market expectations of a stock is to look at its Price to Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio). A high P/E implies that investors have high expectations of what a company can achieve compared to a company with a low P/E ratio.

See our latest analysis for Byleasing Holdings

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

We can tell from its P/E ratio of 5.52 that sentiment around Byleasing Holdings isn't particularly high. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (6.2) for companies in the diversified financial industry is higher than Byleasing Holdings's P/E.

SEHK:8525 Price Estimation Relative to Market April 10th 2020
SEHK:8525 Price Estimation Relative to Market April 10th 2020

Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that Byleasing Holdings shareholders think it will struggle to do as well as other companies in its industry classification. Many investors like to buy stocks when the market is pessimistic about their prospects. If you consider the stock interesting, further research is recommended. For example, I often monitor director buying and 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. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. Therefore, even if you pay a high multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become lower in the future. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers.

Byleasing Holdings shrunk earnings per share by 29% over the last year.

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

The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. The exact same company would hypothetically deserve a higher P/E ratio if it had a strong balance sheet, than if it had a weak one with lots of debt, because a cashed up company can spend on growth.

Spending on growth might be good or bad a few years later, but the point is that the P/E ratio does not account for the option (or lack thereof).

How Does Byleasing Holdings's Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?

With net cash of CN¥13m, Byleasing Holdings has a very strong balance sheet, which may be important for its business. Having said that, at 12% of its market capitalization the cash hoard would contribute towards a higher P/E ratio.

The Bottom Line On Byleasing Holdings's P/E Ratio

Byleasing Holdings trades on a P/E ratio of 5.5, which is below the HK market average of 9.4. The recent drop in earnings per share would make investors cautious, the relatively strong balance sheet will allow the company time to invest in growth. If it achieves that, then there's real potential that the low P/E could eventually indicate undervaluation. What can be absolutely certain is that the market has become more pessimistic about Byleasing Holdings over the last month, with the P/E ratio falling from 13.6 back then to 5.5 today. For those who prefer to invest with the flow of momentum, that might be a bad sign, but for deep value investors this stock might justify some research.

When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. As value investor Benjamin Graham famously said, 'In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine. Although we don't have analyst forecasts shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Of course you might be able to find a better stock than Byleasing 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.