When close to half the companies in the Leisure industry in China have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 2.5x, you may consider Zhonglu.Co.,Ltd (SHSE:600818) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 4x 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.

What Does Zhonglu.Co.Ltd's Recent Performance Look Like?

Revenue has risen at a steady rate over the last year for Zhonglu.Co.Ltd, which is generally not a bad outcome. It might be that many expect the reasonable revenue performance to beat most other companies over the coming period, which has increased investors' willingness to pay up for the stock. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

Is There Enough Revenue Growth Forecasted For Zhonglu.Co.Ltd?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Zhonglu.Co.Ltd would need to produce impressive growth in excess of the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 3.8% gain to the company's revenues. Pleasingly, revenue has also lifted 37% in aggregate from three years ago, partly thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been superb for the company.

Comparing the recent medium-term revenue trends against the industry's one-year growth forecast of 20% shows it's noticeably less attractive.

With this in mind, we find it worrying that Zhonglu.Co.Ltd's P/S exceeds that of its industry peers. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than recent times would indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. There's a good chance existing shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with recent growth rates.

What We Can Learn From Zhonglu.Co.Ltd's P/S?

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.

Our examination of Zhonglu.Co.Ltd revealed its poor three-year revenue trends aren't detracting from the P/S as much as we though, given they look worse than current industry expectations. Right now we aren't comfortable with the high P/S as this revenue performance isn't likely to support such positive sentiment for long. Unless there is a significant improvement in the company's medium-term performance, it will be difficult to prevent the P/S ratio from declining to a more reasonable level.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - Zhonglu.Co.Ltd has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If strong companies turning a profit tickle your fancy, then you'll want to check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.