Atlantic American Corporation (NASDAQ:AAME) shareholders that were waiting for something to happen have been dealt a blow with a 30% share price drop in the last month. Instead of being rewarded, shareholders who have already held through the last twelve months are now sitting on a 17% share price drop.

Since its price has dipped substantially, when close to half the companies operating in the United States' Insurance industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") above 1x, you may consider Atlantic American as an enticing stock to check out with its 0.2x P/S ratio. 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 Atlantic American Performed Recently?

We'd have to say that with no tangible growth over the last year, Atlantic American's revenue has been unimpressive. One possibility is that the P/S is low because investors think this benign revenue growth rate will likely underperform the broader industry in the near future. If not, then existing shareholders may be feeling optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The Low P/S Ratio?

Atlantic American's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered virtually the same number to the company's top line as the year before. The lack of growth did nothing to help the company's aggregate three-year performance, which is an unsavory 4.4% drop in revenue. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 6.8% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term revenue results is a sobering picture.

With this information, we are not surprised that Atlantic American is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/S has reached a floor yet with revenue going in reverse. There's potential for the P/S to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its top-line growth.

What Does Atlantic American's P/S Mean For Investors?

Atlantic American's P/S has taken a dip along with its share price. 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.

As we suspected, our examination of Atlantic American revealed its shrinking revenue over the medium-term is contributing to its low P/S, given the industry is set to grow. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in revenue isn't great enough to justify a higher P/S ratio. Given the current circumstances, it seems unlikely that the share price will experience any significant movement in either direction in the near future if recent medium-term revenue trends persist.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Atlantic American that 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.

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.