Cowell e Holdings Inc.'s (HKG:1415) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 51.5x might make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in Hong Kong, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 8x and even P/E's below 5x are quite common. 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.

Cowell e Holdings could be doing better as its earnings have been going backwards lately while most other companies have been seeing positive earnings growth. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think this poor earnings performance will turn the corner. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Check out our latest analysis for Cowell e Holdings

Keen to find out how analysts think Cowell e Holdings' future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The High P/E?

Cowell e Holdings' P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 38% decrease to the company's bottom line. Regardless, EPS has managed to lift by a handy 18% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the earlier period of growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a good job of growing earnings over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the nine analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 78% per year over the next three years. With the market only predicted to deliver 12% per annum, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

With this information, we can see why Cowell e Holdings is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Final Word

Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

We've established that Cowell e Holdings maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Cowell e Holdings that you should be aware of.

You might be able to find a better investment than Cowell e Holdings. 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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