It’s only natural that many investors, especially those who are new to the game, prefer to buy shares in ‘sexy’ stocks with a good story, even if those businesses lose money. But as Warren Buffett has mused, ‘If you’ve been playing poker for half an hour and you still don’t know who the patsy is, you’re the patsy.’ When they buy such story stocks, investors are all too often the patsy.

In contrast to all that, I prefer to spend time on companies like Haier Electronics Group (HKG:1169), which has not only revenues, but also profits. While profit is not necessarily a social good, it’s easy to admire a business that can consistently produce it. In comparison, loss making companies act like a sponge for capital – but unlike such a sponge they do not always produce something when squeezed.

View our latest analysis for Haier Electronics Group

Haier Electronics Group’s Earnings Per Share Are Growing.

The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so share price follows earnings per share (EPS) eventually. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. We can see that in the last three years Haier Electronics Group grew its EPS by 13% per year. That’s a good rate of growth, if it can be sustained.

I like to see top-line growth as an indication that growth is sustainable, and I look for a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin to point to a competitive moat (though some companies with low margins also have moats). It seems Haier Electronics Group is pretty stable, since revenue and EBIT margins are pretty flat year on year. That’s not bad, but it doesn’t point to ongoing future growth, either.

You can take a look at the company’s revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. For finer detail, click on the image.

The trick, as an investor, is to find companies that are going to perform well in the future, not just in the past. To that end, right now and today, you can check our visualization of consensus analyst forecasts for future Haier Electronics Group EPS 100% free.

Are Haier Electronics Group Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Since Haier Electronics Group has a market capitalization of HK$68b, we wouldn’t expect insiders to hold a large percentage of shares. But we are reassured by the fact they have invested in the company. Indeed, they hold CN¥272m worth of its stock. That’s a lot of money, and no small incentive to work hard. Even though that’s only about 0.4% of the company, it’s enough money to indicate alignment between the leaders of the business and ordinary shareholders.

Is Haier Electronics Group Worth Keeping An Eye On?

One important encouraging feature of Haier Electronics Group is that it is growing profits. If that’s not enough on its own, there is also the rather notable levels of insider ownership. The combination sparks joy for me, so I’d consider keeping the company on a watchlist. If you think Haier Electronics Group might suit your style as an investor, you could go straight to its annual report, or you could first check our discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation for the company.

Although Haier Electronics Group certainly looks good to me, I would like it more if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see insider buying, too, then this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying, could be exactly what you’re looking for.

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 [email protected]. 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.

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