There's No Escaping Emperor Watch & Jewellery Limited's (HKG:887) Muted Earnings Despite A 32% Share Price Rise

Emperor Watch & Jewellery Limited (HKG:887) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 32% gain in the last month alone. The last 30 days bring the annual gain to a very sharp 32%.

Although its price has surged higher, Emperor Watch & Jewellery's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 7.1x might still make it look like a buy right now compared to the market in Hong Kong, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 11x and even P/E's above 23x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/E.

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For example, consider that Emperor Watch & Jewellery's financial performance has been poor lately as its earnings have been in decline. It might be that many expect the disappointing earnings performance to continue or accelerate, which has repressed the P/E. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

Check out our latest analysis for Emperor Watch & Jewellery

How Is Emperor Watch & Jewellery's Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Emperor Watch & Jewellery would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the market.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 14%. That put a dampener on the good run it was having over the longer-term as its three-year EPS growth is still a noteworthy 17% in total. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a good job of growing earnings over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Weighing that recent medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 18% shows it's noticeably less attractive on an annualised basis.

With this information, we can see why Emperor Watch & Jewellery is trading at a P/E lower than the market. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on to something they believe will continue to trail the bourse.

What We Can Learn From Emperor Watch & Jewellery's P/E?

Emperor Watch & Jewellery's stock might have been given a solid boost, but its P/E certainly hasn't reached any great heights. We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

We've established that Emperor Watch & Jewellery maintains its low P/E on the weakness of its recent three-year growth being lower than the wider market forecast, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Emperor Watch & Jewellery that you should be aware of.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.