After the run-up in Indonesia stocks and related exchange traded funds on the elections euphoria, consumer sector stocks are beginning to look expensive.
Following Jakarta governor Joko Widodo’s presidential nomination, Indonesian stocks have moved into a bull market since March on the prospects that the contender could cut through the bureaucracy to kick-start the economy.
Year-to-date, the iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF (NYSEArca: EIDO) is up 26.7% and Market Vectors Indonesia Index ETF (NYSEArca: IDX) gained 24.9%. [Indonesia ETFs Jump Ahead of Presidential Elections]
Now, Farash Farich, a fund manager at PT AAA Asset Management, argues that further gains in consumer stocks will be limited after since shares are too expensive after rallying over the past five-years, Bloomberg reports.
The Consumer Goods Index was hovering around 24 times projected earnings for the next 12 months. Unilever Indonesia is trading around 37 times estimated profits, which makes the company the most expensive consumer staples stock in the world.
“I don’t expect consumer stocks to have strong growth ahead,” Farich said in the article. “Looking at their valuation right now, it seems the share price would only track earnings growth.”