Simei Media Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:002712) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 27% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. The drop over the last 30 days has capped off a tough year for shareholders, with the share price down 48% in that time.

Following the heavy fall in price, Simei MediaLtd's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.4x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the Media industry in China, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 2.3x and even P/S above 5x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

How Has Simei MediaLtd Performed Recently?

Simei MediaLtd certainly has been doing a great job lately as it's been growing its revenue at a really rapid pace. It might be that many expect the strong revenue performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/S ratio. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The Low P/S Ratio?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as low as Simei MediaLtd's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the industry.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew revenue by an impressive 33% last year. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 40% overall rise in revenue, aided by its short-term performance. Accordingly, shareholders would have definitely welcomed those medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 20% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is weaker, based on recent medium-term annualised revenue results.

With this information, we can see why Simei MediaLtd is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. 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 Key Takeaway

Simei MediaLtd's P/S has taken a dip along with its share price. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-sales ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

In line with expectations, Simei MediaLtd maintains its low P/S on the weakness of its recent three-year growth being lower than the wider industry forecast. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Simei MediaLtd (2 are a bit concerning) you should be aware of.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Simei MediaLtd, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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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.