Stock Valuation: China Telecom Corp Ltd (728)

Name of Company Country of Origin/ Exchange Traded Sector Stock Price
CHINA TELECOM CORP LTD China/
HKSE
Communication Services – Communication Services – Telecom Services HKD3.89
@ 29 Sep 2018
COMPANY PROFILE China Telecom Corp Ltd offers a range of wireline and mobile telecommunications services including wireline voice, mobile voice, the Internet, telecommunications network resource services, value-added services, and other related services.

China Telecom is the largest fixed-line operator in China, covering 21 southern provinces. It has 121 million fixed-line subscribers, 135 million broadband customers, and 260 million wireless subscribers. The firm is increasing its cross-selling of products and adding additional services, such as cloud computing.

Stock Code 728
Valuation Analysis Below

China Telecom Price to EBIT

The Price Earnings (PE) Ratio is the most frequently used valuation indicator for a stock. However, there are times when this ratio cannot be used e.g. when the company reports a loss or profit is so minimal that it results in an abnormally high PE Ratio. Or Net Profit After Tax may be volatile and it is better to use Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) to value the company. We use the PE Band or Price/EBIT Band to show whether a stock is overvalued or undervalued based on its historical valuation.
At the price of HKD3.89 as at 29 Sep 2018, China Telecom Corp Ltd is trading at a Price to EBIT Ratio of 8.7 times last 12 months earnings.  This is a 3.5% discount to its current fair Price to EBIT Ratio of 9.1 times. (Price based on the fair Price to EBIT Ratio of the company is indicated by the red line.)
Is the stock undervalued? One should not just look at one indicator to determine the fair value of a stock.
ProThinker believes in using a combination of valuation methods to decide whether a stock is over or undervalued? The five ratios we use are Price to Earnings, Price to Sales, Price to Cash Flow, Price to Book and Dividend Yield. We use multiple methods to value a stock because each has its benefits as well as shortcomings. Price to Earnings and Price to Cash Flow Ratios relate stock price to profitability but are meaningless when the comany has negative earnings or cash flows. Price to Sales Ratio is more stable because sales are never negative. However, this does not tell us whether the company is able to sell profitably. Price to Book Ratio gives us an indication as to how much we are paying for the company’s assets but it is not directly related to the company’s profitability. Dividend Yield cannot be used for companies that are paying little to no dividends.
While it is important to value stocks based on multiple valuation methods, this often leads to differing views on valuation. One indicator may suggest that a stock is overvalued while another suggest that it is undervalued. This does not help an investor who needs to make a definite decision whether to buy, hold or sell the stock. That is why we advocate the use of a Composite Valuation Indicator, which is derived from the best combination of the five indicators above. A Composite Valuation Indicator will give you ONE conclusion on whether a stock is under or over valued.
To find out more about our valuation methodology, click here. 
Source of Data: Company description, historical financial statements data and price data are from gurufocus.com or moneycontrol.com. Estimates are from marketscreener.com – Thomson Reuters.
Disclaimer: This report is for information purposes only and should not be considered a solicitation to buy or sell any security. Neither ProThinker nor any other party guarantees its accuracy or makes warranties regarding results from its usage. Redistribution is prohibited without the express written consent of ProThinker. Copyright(c) 2018. All rights reserved.