With a median price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of close to 1.7x in the Oil and Gas industry in the United States, you could be forgiven for feeling indifferent about Clean Energy Fuels Corp.'s (NASDAQ:CLNE) P/S ratio, which comes in at about the same. 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.
What Does Clean Energy Fuels' Recent Performance Look Like?
Clean Energy Fuels has been struggling lately as its revenue has declined faster than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/S is moderate because investors think the company's revenue trend will eventually fall in line with most others in the industry. If you still like the company, you'd want its revenue trajectory to turn around before making any decisions. Or at the very least, you'd be hoping it doesn't keep underperforming if your plan is to pick up some stock while it's not in favour.
Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on Clean Energy Fuels will help you uncover what's on the horizon.
How Is Clean Energy Fuels' Revenue Growth Trending?
Clean Energy Fuels' P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver moderate growth, and importantly, perform in line with the industry.
Taking a look back first, the company's revenue growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 4.3%. Even so, admirably revenue has lifted 73% in aggregate from three years ago, notwithstanding the last 12 months. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a very good job of growing revenue over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.
Shifting to the future, estimates from the five analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 25% per annum over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 41% per year growth forecast for the broader industry.
In light of this, it's curious that Clean Energy Fuels' P/S sits in line with the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited growth expectations and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. These shareholders may be setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.
What Does Clean Energy Fuels' P/S Mean For Investors?
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.
When you consider that Clean Energy Fuels' revenue growth estimates are fairly muted compared to the broader industry, it's easy to see why we consider it unexpected to be trading at its current P/S ratio. When we see companies with a relatively weaker revenue outlook compared to the industry, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, sending the moderate P/S lower. Circumstances like this present a risk to current and prospective investors who may see share prices fall if the low revenue growth impacts the sentiment.
Many other vital risk factors can be found on the company's balance sheet. You can assess many of the main risks through our free balance sheet analysis for Clean Energy Fuels with six simple checks.
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).
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.
在美国石油和燃气行业,市销率的中位数接近1.7x,因此你可能会对clean energy fuels Corp.(纳斯达克:CLNE)的市销率感到无所谓,因为其市销率也差不多。不过,简单忽视市销率而不解释是不明智的,因为投资者可能会忽视一个明显的机会或犯下昂贵的错误。
clean energy fuels最近的表现如何?
最近,clean energy fuels的营业收入下降的速度超过了大多数其他公司,这让它陷入困境。一个可能性是市销率适中,因为投资者认为该公司的营业收入趋势最终会与行业内的大多数公司趋于一致。如果你仍然喜欢这家公司,你会希望它的营业收入轨迹在做出任何决策之前能够扭转过来。或者,至少,如果你的计划是趁其不受欢迎时买入一些股票,你希望它不会继续表现不佳。
想了解关于该公司的分析师预测的全部信息吗?那么我们的免费报告将帮助你发现clean energy fuels未来的情况。
clean energy fuels的营业收入增长趋势如何?
clean energy fuels的市销率对于一家预计只有适度增长的公司来说是典型的,重要的是,其表现与行业板块保持一致。
考虑到这一点,令人好奇的是,clean energy fuels的市销率与其他大多数公司保持一致。似乎大多数投资者正在忽视相对有限的增长预期,并愿意为接触股票支付更高的价格。如果市销率下降到更符合增长前景的水平,这些股东可能会为未来的失望铺平道路。
clean energy fuels的市销率对投资者意味着什么?
通常,我们在限制市销率的使用方面的偏好是建立在市场投资者对公司总体健康状况的看法上。
考虑到clean energy fuels的营业收入增长预期与更广泛的行业板块相比相对温和,我们很容易理解为什么我们认为它目前的市销率交易让人感到意外。当我们看到与行业板块相比营业收入展望相对较弱的公司时,我们怀疑其股价面临下跌风险,从而导致温和的市销率下降。这种情况给当前和潜在投资者带来了风险,因为如果低营业收入增长影响情绪,股价可能会下跌。
在公司的资产负债表上可以发现许多其他重要的风险因素。您可以通过我们的免费资产负债表分析进行六个简单检查,评估clean energy fuels的主要风险。