It's not a stretch to say that City Developments Limited's (SGX:C09) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 1.3x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" for companies in the Real Estate industry in Singapore, where the median P/S ratio is around 1.7x. Although, it's not wise to simply ignore the P/S without explanation as investors may be disregarding a distinct opportunity or a costly mistake.

See our latest analysis for City Developments

What Does City Developments' Recent Performance Look Like?

City Developments certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing revenue more than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/S ratio is moderate because investors think this strong revenue performance might be about to tail off. If the company manages to stay the course, then investors should be rewarded with a share price that matches its revenue figures.

How Is City Developments' Revenue Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should be matching the industry for P/S ratios like City Developments' to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew revenue by an impressive 56% last year. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 56% overall rise in revenue, aided by its short-term performance. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been superb for the company.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should bring diminished returns, with revenue decreasing 15% as estimated by the twelve analysts watching the company. That's not great when the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 1.5%.

With this information, we find it concerning that City Developments is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. It seems most investors are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects, but the analyst cohort is not so confident this will happen. There's a good chance these shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the negative growth outlook.

The Bottom Line On City Developments' P/S

Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-sales ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

Our check of City Developments' analyst forecasts revealed that its outlook for shrinking revenue isn't bringing down its P/S as much as we would have predicted. When we see a gloomy outlook like this, our immediate thoughts are that the share price is at risk of declining, negatively impacting P/S. If we consider the revenue outlook, the P/S seems to indicate that potential investors may be paying a premium for the stock.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for City Developments (1 doesn't sit too well with us) you should be aware of.

If strong companies turning a profit tickle your fancy, then you'll want to 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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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.