A Sliding Share Price Has Us Looking At Nanjing Sample Technology Company Limited's (HKG:1708) P/E Ratio

Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Nanjing Sample Technology (HKG:1708) share price has dived 77% in the last thirty days. And that drop will have no doubt have some shareholders concerned that the 85% share price decline, over the last year, has turned them into bagholders. For those wondering, a bagholder is someone who keeps holding a losing stock indefinitely, without taking the time to consider its prospects carefully, going forward.

Assuming nothing else has changed, a lower share price makes a stock more attractive to potential buyers. 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). Investors have optimistic expectations of companies with higher P/E ratios, compared to companies with lower P/E ratios.

View our latest analysis for Nanjing Sample Technology

Does Nanjing Sample Technology Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

Nanjing Sample Technology's P/E is 7.96. You can see in the image below that the average P/E (7.9) for companies in the electronic industry is roughly the same as Nanjing Sample Technology's P/E.

That indicates that the market expects Nanjing Sample Technology will perform roughly in line with other companies in its industry. So if Nanjing Sample Technology actually outperforms its peers going forward, that should be a positive for the share price. Further research into factors such as insider buying and selling, could help you form your own view on whether that is likely.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

Companies that shrink earnings per share quickly will rapidly decrease the 'E' in the equation. That means even if the current P/E is low, it will increase over time if the share price stays flat. Then, a higher P/E might scare off shareholders, pushing the share price down.

Nanjing Sample Technology's earnings per share fell by 44% in the last twelve months. And over the longer term (5 years) earnings per share have decreased 11% annually. This could justify a pessimistic P/E.

A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank

Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future) by investing in growth. That means taking on debt (or spending its cash).

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).

So What Does Nanjing Sample Technology's Balance Sheet Tell Us?

Nanjing Sample Technology's net debt is 75% of its market cap. This is enough debt that you'd have to make some adjustments before using the P/E ratio to compare it to a company with net cash.

The Bottom Line On Nanjing Sample Technology's P/E Ratio

Nanjing Sample Technology's P/E is 8.0 which is below average (9.1) in the HK market. Given meaningful debt, and a lack of recent growth, the market looks to be extrapolating this recent performance; reflecting low expectations for the future. What can be absolutely certain is that the market has become more pessimistic about Nanjing Sample Technology over the last month, with the P/E ratio falling from 35.1 back then to 8.0 today. For those who prefer invest in growth, this stock apparently offers limited promise, but the deep value investors may find the pessimism around this stock enticing.

Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. If it is underestimating a company, investors can make money by buying and holding the shares until the market corrects itself. Although we don't have analyst forecasts you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

But note: Nanjing Sample Technology may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).

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.