Zhong An Intelligent Living Service Limited's (HKG:2271) 71% Share Price Surge Not Quite Adding Up

Zhong An Intelligent Living Service Limited (HKG:2271) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 71% gain in the last month alone. Looking further back, the 20% rise over the last twelve months isn't too bad notwithstanding the strength over the last 30 days.

Since its price has surged higher, given close to half the companies in Hong Kong have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 11x, you may consider Zhong An Intelligent Living Service as a stock to avoid entirely with its 20.1x P/E ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

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For example, consider that Zhong An Intelligent Living Service's financial performance has been poor lately as its earnings have been in decline. It might be that many expect the company to still outplay most other companies over the coming period, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. If not, then existing shareholders may be quite nervous about the viability of the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for Zhong An Intelligent Living Service

How Is Zhong An Intelligent Living Service's Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like Zhong An Intelligent Living Service's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 34%. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 28% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 19% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term earnings results is a sobering picture.

In light of this, it's alarming that Zhong An Intelligent Living Service's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than recent times would indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. There's a very good chance existing shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with the recent negative growth rates.

The Key Takeaway

Shares in Zhong An Intelligent Living Service have built up some good momentum lately, which has really inflated its P/E. 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 Zhong An Intelligent Living Service currently trades on a much higher than expected P/E since its recent earnings have been in decline over the medium-term. When we see earnings heading backwards and underperforming the market forecasts, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, sending the high P/E lower. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve markedly, it's very challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 3 warning signs for Zhong An Intelligent Living Service you should be aware of, and 1 of them is concerning.

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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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.