Bohai Leasing Co., Ltd. (SZSE:000415) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 37% gain in the last month alone. The last 30 days bring the annual gain to a very sharp 80%.
Even after such a large jump in price, it's still not a stretch to say that Bohai Leasing's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.7x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the Trade Distributors industry in China, where the median P/S ratio is around 0.9x. While this might not raise any eyebrows, if the P/S ratio is not justified investors could be missing out on a potential opportunity or ignoring looming disappointment.
What Does Bohai Leasing's Recent Performance Look Like?
Revenue has risen firmly for Bohai Leasing recently, which is pleasing to see. Perhaps the market is expecting future revenue performance to only keep up with the broader industry, which has keeping the P/S in line with expectations. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders probably aren't too pessimistic about the future direction of the share price.
We don't have analyst forecasts, but you can see how recent trends are setting up the company for the future by checking out our free report on Bohai Leasing's earnings, revenue and cash flow.How Is Bohai Leasing's Revenue Growth Trending?
Bohai Leasing's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver moderate growth, and importantly, perform in line with the industry.
Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow revenues by a handy 8.7% last year. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 61% overall rise in revenue, aided somewhat by its short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing revenues over that time.
Comparing that recent medium-term revenue trajectory with the industry's one-year growth forecast of 14% shows it's noticeably more attractive.
In light of this, it's curious that Bohai Leasing's P/S sits in line with the majority of other companies. Apparently some shareholders believe the recent performance is at its limits and have been accepting lower selling prices.
The Bottom Line On Bohai Leasing's P/S
Its shares have lifted substantially and now Bohai Leasing's P/S is back within range of the industry median. Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-sales ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.
To our surprise, Bohai Leasing revealed its three-year revenue trends aren't contributing to its P/S as much as we would have predicted, given they look better than current industry expectations. 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.
Plus, you should also learn about these 3 warning signs we've spotted with Bohai Leasing (including 1 which shouldn't be ignored).
If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Bohai Leasing, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.
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.