Is Now The Time To Put Yadea Group Holdings (HKG:1585) On Your Watchlist?

Some have more dollars than sense, they say, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can easily find investors. And in their study titled Who Falls Prey to the Wolf of Wall Street?' Leuz et. al. found that it is 'quite common' for investors to lose money by buying into 'pump and dump' schemes.

So if you're like me, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Yadea Group Holdings (HKG:1585). While that doesn't make the shares worth buying at any price, you can't deny that successful capitalism requires profit, eventually. Conversely, a loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the sweet milk of external capital may run sour.

View our latest analysis for Yadea Group Holdings

How Fast Is Yadea Group Holdings Growing Its Earnings Per Share?

Even modest earnings per share growth (EPS) can create meaningful value, when it is sustained reliably from year to year. So EPS growth can certainly encourage an investor to take note of a stock. Yadea Group Holdings boosted its trailing twelve month EPS from CN¥0.14 to CN¥0.17, in the last year. I doubt many would complain about that 22% gain.

Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. Yadea Group Holdings maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 21% to CN¥12b. That's a real positive.

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.

While it's always good to see growing profits, you should always remember that a weak balance sheet could come back to bite. So check Yadea Group Holdings's balance sheet strength, before getting too excited.

Are Yadea Group Holdings Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Like standing at the lookout, surveying the horizon at sunrise, insider buying, for some investors, sparks joy. Because oftentimes, the purchase of stock is a sign that the buyer views it as undervalued. However, small purchases are not always indicative of conviction, and insiders don't always get it right.

One shining light for Yadea Group Holdings is the serious outlay one insider has made to buy shares, in the last year. In one fell swoop, Vice Chairwoman & CEO Jinghong Qian, spent HK$12m, at a price of HK$1.67 per share. It doesn't get much better than that, in terms of large investments from insiders.

And the insider buying isn't the only sign of alignment between shareholders and the board, since Yadea Group Holdings insiders own more than a third of the company. In fact, they own 69% of the company, so they will share in the same delights and challenges experienced by the ordinary shareholders. This makes me think they will be incentivised to plan for the long term - something I like to see. And their holding is extremely valuable at the current share price, totalling CN¥3.6b. Now that's what I call some serious skin in the game!

While insiders are apparently happy to hold and accumulate shares, that is just part of the pretty picture. The cherry on top is that the CEO, Jinghong Qian is paid comparatively modestly to CEOs at similar sized companies. I discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Yadea Group Holdings with market caps between CN¥2.8b and CN¥11b is about CN¥3.5m.

The CEO of Yadea Group Holdings only received CN¥721k in total compensation for the year ending . That's clearly well below average, so at a glance, that arrangement seems generous to shareholders, and points to a modest remuneration culture. CEO compensation is hardly the most important aspect of a company to consider, but when its reasonable that does give me a little more confidence that leadership are looking out for shareholder interests. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.

Is Yadea Group Holdings Worth Keeping An Eye On?

One positive for Yadea Group Holdings is that it is growing EPS. That's nice to see. On top of that, we've seen insiders buying shares even though they already own plenty. That makes the company a prime candidate for my watchlist - and arguably a research priority. We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 1 warning sign for Yadea Group Holdings that you need to be mindful of.

The good news is that Yadea Group Holdings is not the only growth stock with insider buying. Here's a list of them... with insider buying in the last three months!

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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.

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