Despite an already strong run, Sunlands Technology Group (NYSE:STG) shares have been powering on, with a gain of 35% in the last thirty days. The last 30 days bring the annual gain to a very sharp 32%.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, considering around half the companies operating in the United States' Consumer Services industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") above 1.5x, you may still consider Sunlands Technology Group as an solid investment opportunity with its 0.4x P/S ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/S.

Check out our latest analysis for Sunlands Technology Group

What Does Sunlands Technology Group's Recent Performance Look Like?

For example, consider that Sunlands Technology Group's financial performance has been poor lately as its revenue has been in decline. Perhaps the market believes the recent revenue performance isn't good enough to keep up the industry, causing the P/S ratio to suffer. However, if this doesn't eventuate then existing shareholders may be feeling optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

Is There Any Revenue Growth Forecasted For Sunlands Technology Group?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Sunlands Technology Group would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 5.9% decrease to the company's top line. At least revenue has managed not to go completely backwards from three years ago in aggregate, thanks to the earlier period of growth. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing revenue over that time.

This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 13% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

With this in consideration, it's easy to understand why Sunlands Technology Group's P/S falls short of the mark set by its industry peers. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Final Word

The latest share price surge wasn't enough to lift Sunlands Technology Group's P/S close to the industry median. Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-sales ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

As we suspected, our examination of Sunlands Technology Group revealed its three-year revenue trends are contributing to its low P/S, given they look worse than current industry expectations. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in revenue isn't great enough to justify a higher P/S ratio. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, it's hard to see the share price experience a reversal of fortunes anytime soon.

Plus, you should also learn about these 2 warning signs we've spotted with Sunlands Technology Group.

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.