The Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:PESI) share price has softened a substantial 25% over the previous 30 days, handing back much of the gains the stock has made lately. The drop over the last 30 days has capped off a tough year for shareholders, with the share price down 12% in that time.

Although its price has dipped substantially, given close to half the companies operating in the United States' Commercial Services industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.3x, you may still consider Perma-Fix Environmental Services as a stock to potentially avoid with its 1.8x P/S ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/S.

How Has Perma-Fix Environmental Services Performed Recently?

There hasn't been much to differentiate Perma-Fix Environmental Services' and the industry's revenue growth lately. One possibility is that the P/S ratio is high because investors think this modest revenue performance will accelerate. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

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

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as high as Perma-Fix Environmental Services' is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 11% gain to the company's revenues. Ultimately though, it couldn't turn around the poor performance of the prior period, with revenue shrinking 20% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to slump, contracting by 4.2% during the coming year according to the lone analyst following the company. Meanwhile, the broader industry is forecast to expand by 10%, which paints a poor picture.

With this in mind, we find it intriguing that Perma-Fix Environmental Services' P/S is closely matching its industry peers. It seems most investors are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects, but the analyst cohort is not so confident this will happen. There's a very good chance these shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the negative growth outlook.

What We Can Learn From Perma-Fix Environmental Services' P/S?

Perma-Fix Environmental Services' P/S remain high even after its stock plunged. While the price-to-sales ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of revenue expectations.

For a company with revenues that are set to decline in the context of a growing industry, Perma-Fix Environmental Services' P/S is much higher than we would've anticipated. Right now we aren't comfortable with the high P/S as the predicted future revenue decline likely to impact the positive sentiment that's propping up the P/S. Unless these conditions improve markedly, it'll be a challenging time for shareholders.

Having said that, be aware Perma-Fix Environmental Services is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, you should know about.

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.

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