Hyundai Wia Corporation (KRX:011210) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 25% gain in the last month alone. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 83% in the last year.
In spite of the firm bounce in price, Hyundai Wia may still be sending bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 10.2x, since almost half of all companies in Korea have P/E ratios greater than 14x and even P/E's higher than 30x are not unusual. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.
Recent times have been advantageous for Hyundai Wia as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/E is low because investors think this strong earnings performance might be less impressive moving forward. 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.
See our latest analysis for Hyundai Wia
Hyundai Wia's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the market.
Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 71% last year. Despite this strong recent growth, it's still struggling to catch up as its three-year EPS frustratingly shrank by 14% overall. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.
Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to slump, contracting by 7.7% during the coming year according to the analysts following the company. With the market predicted to deliver 38% growth , that's a disappointing outcome.
In light of this, it's understandable that Hyundai Wia's P/E would sit below the majority of other companies. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/E has reached a floor yet with earnings going in reverse. There's potential for the P/E to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its profitability.
Hyundai Wia'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.
As we suspected, our examination of Hyundai Wia's analyst forecasts revealed that its outlook for shrinking earnings is contributing to its low P/E. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/E as they concede future earnings probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.
You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Hyundai Wia you should be aware of.
You might be able to find a better investment than Hyundai Wia. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).
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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.