The Home Control International Limited (HKG:1747) share price has done very well over the last month, posting an excellent gain of 39%. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 17% over that time.

Even after such a large jump in price, it's still not a stretch to say that Home Control International's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.3x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the Consumer Durables industry in Hong Kong, where the median P/S ratio is around 0.5x. 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 Home Control International's P/S Mean For Shareholders?

Home Control International could be doing better as its revenue has been going backwards lately while most other companies have been seeing positive revenue growth. It might be that many expect the dour revenue performance to strengthen positively, which has kept the P/S from falling. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a relatively elevated price for a company with this sort of growth profile.

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

Home Control International's 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.

In reviewing the last year of financials, we were disheartened to see the company's revenues fell to the tune of 20%. As a result, revenue from three years ago have also fallen 25% overall. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the sole analyst covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 7.7% per annum over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 11% per annum growth forecast for the broader industry.

In light of this, it's curious that Home Control International's 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.

The Bottom Line On Home Control International's P/S

Home Control International's stock has a lot of momentum behind it lately, which has brought its P/S level with the rest of the industry. We'd say the price-to-sales ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

Given that Home Control International's revenue growth projections are relatively subdued in comparison to the wider industry, it comes as a surprise to see it trading at its current P/S ratio. At present, we aren't confident in the P/S as the predicted future revenues aren't likely to support a more positive sentiment for long. 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.

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

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.

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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.

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