Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Kaiyuan Education Technology Group Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300338) share price has dived 45% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. For any long-term shareholders, the last month ends a year to forget by locking in a 74% share price decline.

Following the heavy fall in price, Kaiyuan Education Technology Group may be sending buy signals at present with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 1.6x, considering almost half of all companies in the Electronic industry in China have P/S ratios greater than 3.6x and even P/S higher than 7x aren't out of the ordinary. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

What Does Kaiyuan Education Technology Group's Recent Performance Look Like?

For instance, Kaiyuan Education Technology Group's receding revenue in recent times would have to be some food for thought. Perhaps the market believes the recent revenue performance isn't good enough to keep up the industry, causing the P/S ratio to suffer. Those who are bullish on Kaiyuan Education Technology Group will be hoping that this isn't the case so that they can pick up the stock at a lower valuation.

What Are Revenue Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/S?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the industry for P/S ratios like Kaiyuan Education Technology Group's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 54% decrease to the company's top line. This means it has also seen a slide in revenue over the longer-term as revenue is down 71% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 26% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term revenue decline into perspective.

In light of this, it's understandable that Kaiyuan Education Technology Group's P/S would sit below the majority of other companies. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/S has reached a floor yet with revenue going in reverse. There's potential for the P/S to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its top-line growth.

What We Can Learn From Kaiyuan Education Technology Group's P/S?

The southerly movements of Kaiyuan Education Technology Group's shares means its P/S is now sitting at a pretty low level. While the price-to-sales ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of revenue expectations.

Our examination of Kaiyuan Education Technology Group confirms that the company's shrinking revenue over the past medium-term is a key factor in its low price-to-sales ratio, given the industry is projected to grow. 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 moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 5 warning signs with Kaiyuan Education Technology Group (at least 3 which don't sit too well with us), and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

Of course, profitable companies with a history of great earnings growth are generally safer bets. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.