Hygieia Group Limited (HKG:1650) shareholders that were waiting for something to happen have been dealt a blow with a 30% share price drop in the last month. Longer-term, the stock has been solid despite a difficult 30 days, gaining 15% in the last year.

Although its price has dipped substantially, there still wouldn't be many who think Hygieia Group's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.3x is worth a mention when the median P/S in Hong Kong's Commercial Services industry is similar at about 0.5x. However, investors might be overlooking a clear opportunity or potential setback if there is no rational basis for the P/S.

How Hygieia Group Has Been Performing

The revenue growth achieved at Hygieia Group over the last year would be more than acceptable for most companies. Perhaps the market is expecting future revenue performance to only keep up with the broader industry, which has keeping the P/S in line with expectations. Those who are bullish on Hygieia 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 P/S?

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

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew revenue by an impressive 20% last year. However, the latest three year period hasn't been as great in aggregate as it didn't manage to provide any growth at all. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.

Comparing the recent medium-term revenue trends against the industry's one-year growth forecast of 6.4% shows it's noticeably less attractive.

With this information, we find it interesting that Hygieia Group is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited recent growth rates and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. Maintaining these prices will be difficult to achieve as a continuation of recent revenue trends is likely to weigh down the shares eventually.

What Does Hygieia Group's P/S Mean For Investors?

Hygieia Group's plummeting stock price has brought its P/S back to a similar region as the rest of the industry. 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.

Our examination of Hygieia Group revealed its poor three-year revenue trends aren't resulting in a lower P/S as per our expectations, given they look worse than current industry outlook. When we see weak revenue with slower than industry growth, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, bringing the P/S back in line with expectations. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, the probability of a share price decline will become quite substantial, placing shareholders at risk.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider and we've discovered 4 warning signs for Hygieia Group (2 can't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So if growing profitability aligns with your idea of a great company, take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

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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.