Hyundai Autoever Corporation (KRX:307950) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 64% gain in the last month alone. The last month tops off a massive increase of 163% in the last year.
Since its price has surged higher, given close to half the companies in Korea have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 13x, you may consider Hyundai Autoever as a stock to avoid entirely with its 50.7x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.
With earnings growth that's superior to most other companies of late, Hyundai Autoever has been doing relatively well. It seems that many are expecting the strong earnings performance to persist, which has raised the P/E. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.
View our latest analysis for Hyundai Autoever
The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as steep as Hyundai Autoever's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market decidedly.
Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 17% last year. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 100% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.
Shifting to the future, estimates from the twelve analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 22% over the next year. With the market predicted to deliver 37% growth , the company is positioned for a weaker earnings result.
With this information, we find it concerning that Hyundai Autoever is trading at a P/E higher than the market. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than analysts indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. There's a good chance these shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.
Hyundai Autoever's P/E is flying high just like its stock has during the last month. 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.
Our examination of Hyundai Autoever's analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior earnings outlook isn't impacting its high P/E anywhere near as much as we would have predicted. Right now we are increasingly uncomfortable with the high P/E as the predicted future earnings aren't likely to support such positive sentiment for long. Unless these conditions improve markedly, it's very challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.
You always need to take note of risks, for example - Hyundai Autoever has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on 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.