Leeport (Holdings) Limited (HKG:387) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 36% after a shaky period beforehand. Not all shareholders will be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down a very disappointing 18% in the last twelve months.
In spite of the firm bounce in price, it's still not a stretch to say that Leeport (Holdings)'s price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.2x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the Trade Distributors industry in Hong Kong, where the median P/S ratio is around 0.6x. 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.
Check out our latest analysis for Leeport (Holdings)
SEHK:387 Price to Sales Ratio vs Industry January 3rd 2024
How Leeport (Holdings) Has Been Performing
Recent times have been quite advantageous for Leeport (Holdings) as its revenue has been rising very briskly. It might be that many expect the strong revenue performance to wane, which has kept the share price, and thus the P/S ratio, from rising. Those who are bullish on Leeport (Holdings) will be hoping that this isn't the case, so that they can pick up the stock at a lower valuation.
Want the full picture on earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on Leeport (Holdings) will help you shine a light on its historical performance.
How Is Leeport (Holdings)'s Revenue Growth Trending?
There's an inherent assumption that a company should be matching the industry for P/S ratios like Leeport (Holdings)'s to be considered reasonable.
If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 32%. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow revenue by 55% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have definitely welcomed those medium-term rates of revenue growth.
When compared to the industry's one-year growth forecast of 3.5%, the most recent medium-term revenue trajectory is noticeably more alluring
With this information, we find it interesting that Leeport (Holdings) is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. It may be that most investors are not convinced the company can maintain its recent growth rates.
The Key Takeaway
Leeport (Holdings)'s stock has a lot of momentum behind it lately, which has brought its P/S level with the rest of the industry. 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.
We've established that Leeport (Holdings) currently trades on a lower than expected P/S since its recent three-year growth is higher than the wider industry forecast. It'd be fair to assume that potential risks the company faces could be the contributing factor to the lower than expected P/S. While recent revenue trends over the past medium-term suggest that the risk of a price decline is low, investors appear to see the likelihood of revenue fluctuations in the future.
There are also other vital risk factors to consider and we've discovered 8 warning signs for Leeport (Holdings) (4 are a bit concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
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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