Those holding China Supply Chain Holdings Limited (HKG:3708) shares would be relieved that the share price has rebounded 50% in the last thirty days, but it needs to keep going to repair the recent damage it has caused to investor portfolios. But the last month did very little to improve the 79% share price decline over the last year.
Even after such a large jump in price, there still wouldn't be many who think China Supply Chain Holdings' price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.2x is worth a mention when the median P/S in Hong Kong's Construction industry is similar at about 0.3x. Although, it's not wise to simply ignore the P/S without explanation as investors may be disregarding a distinct opportunity or a costly mistake.
How Has China Supply Chain Holdings Performed Recently?
The revenue growth achieved at China Supply Chain Holdings over the last year would be more than acceptable for most companies. One possibility is that the P/S is moderate because investors think this respectable revenue growth might not be enough to outperform the broader industry in the near future. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's not quite in favour.
Although there are no analyst estimates available for China Supply Chain Holdings, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Do Revenue Forecasts Match The P/S Ratio?
The only time you'd be comfortable seeing a P/S like China Supply Chain Holdings' is when the company's growth is tracking the industry closely.
If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a worthy increase of 8.7%. This was backed up an excellent period prior to see revenue up by 66% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing revenues over that time.
Comparing that to the industry, which is only predicted to deliver 9.9% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is stronger based on recent medium-term annualised revenue results.
In light of this, it's curious that China Supply Chain Holdings' P/S sits in line with the majority of other companies. It may be that most investors are not convinced the company can maintain its recent growth rates.
The Bottom Line On China Supply Chain Holdings' P/S
China Supply Chain Holdings' stock has a lot of momentum behind it lately, which has brought its P/S level with the rest of the industry. 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.
We didn't quite envision China Supply Chain Holdings' P/S sitting in line with the wider industry, considering the revenue growth over the last three-year is higher than the current industry outlook. There could be some unobserved threats to revenue preventing the P/S ratio from matching this positive performance. While recent revenue trends over the past medium-term suggest that the risk of a price decline is low, investors appear to see the likelihood of revenue fluctuations in the future.
There are also other vital risk factors to consider and we've discovered 2 warning signs for China Supply Chain Holdings (1 shouldn't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
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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