Stagwell Inc. (NASDAQ:STGW) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 25% after a shaky period beforehand. The last 30 days bring the annual gain to a very sharp 50%.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, Stagwell may still be sending buy signals at present with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.3x, considering almost half of all companies in the Media industry in the United States have P/S ratios greater than 0.9x and even P/S higher than 4x aren't out of the ordinary. However, the P/S might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

How Stagwell Has Been Performing

Stagwell's revenue growth of late has been pretty similar to most other companies. It might be that many expect the mediocre revenue performance to degrade, which has repressed the P/S ratio. If not, then existing shareholders have reason to be optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

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 Stagwell's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a worthy increase of 4.9%. This was backed up an excellent period prior to see revenue up by 131% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing revenues over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the six analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 4.3% over the next year. With the industry predicted to deliver 4.0% growth , the company is positioned for a comparable revenue result.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Stagwell's P/S sits below the majority of other companies. It may be that most investors are not convinced the company can achieve future growth expectations.

The Final Word

The latest share price surge wasn't enough to lift Stagwell's P/S close to the industry median. Using the price-to-sales ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

It looks to us like the P/S figures for Stagwell remain low despite growth that is expected to be in line with other companies in the industry. When we see middle-of-the-road revenue growth like this, we assume it must be the potential risks that are what is placing pressure on the P/S ratio. At least the risk of a price drop looks to be subdued, but investors seem to think future revenue could see some volatility.

It is also worth noting that we have found 2 warning signs for Stagwell (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you need to take into consideration.

If companies with solid past earnings growth is up your alley, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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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.