Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.B) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 26% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. Looking at the bigger picture, even after this poor month the stock is up 51% in the last year.

In spite of the heavy fall in price, it would still be understandable if you think Crawford is a stock with good investment prospects with a price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") of 0.3x, considering almost half the companies in the United States' Insurance industry have P/S ratios above 1.1x. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

What Does Crawford's Recent Performance Look Like?

Recent times haven't been great for Crawford as its revenue has been rising slower than most other companies. Perhaps the market is expecting the current trend of poor revenue growth to continue, which has kept the P/S suppressed. If you still like the company, you'd be hoping revenue doesn't get any worse and that you could pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

How Is Crawford's Revenue Growth Trending?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as low as Crawford's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the industry.

If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a worthy increase of 11%. Pleasingly, revenue has also lifted 34% in aggregate from three years ago, partly thanks to the last 12 months of growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing revenues over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the three analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 3.5% over the next year. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forecast to expand by 6.8%, which is noticeably more attractive.

With this information, we can see why Crawford is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on while the company is potentially eyeing a less prosperous future.

What Does Crawford's P/S Mean For Investors?

The southerly movements of Crawford's shares means its P/S is now sitting at a pretty low level. 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.

We've established that Crawford maintains its low P/S on the weakness of its forecast growth being lower than the wider industry, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Crawford (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of.

If you're unsure about the strength of Crawford's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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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.