The China Security Co., Ltd. (SHSE:600654) share price has softened a substantial 31% over the previous 30 days, handing back much of the gains the stock has made lately. Longer-term, the stock has been solid despite a difficult 30 days, gaining 24% in the last year.

Even after such a large drop in price, China Security may still be sending buy signals at present with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 3x, considering almost half of all companies in the Electronic industry in China have P/S ratios greater than 3.9x and even P/S higher than 8x aren't out of the ordinary. 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 China Security's Recent Performance Look Like?

China Security has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing revenue at a solid pace. It might be that many expect the respectable revenue performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/S. 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 out of favour.

How Is China Security's Revenue Growth Trending?

China Security's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the industry.

If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a worthy increase of 9.0%. Still, revenue has barely risen at all in aggregate from three years ago, which is not ideal. Therefore, it's fair to say that revenue growth has been inconsistent recently for the company.

Comparing the recent medium-term revenue trends against the industry's one-year growth forecast of 26% shows it's noticeably less attractive.

With this in consideration, it's easy to understand why China Security's P/S falls short of the mark set by its industry peers. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Final Word

China Security's P/S has taken a dip along with its share price. 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.

In line with expectations, China Security maintains its low P/S on the weakness of its recent three-year growth being lower than the wider industry forecast. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in revenue isn't great enough to justify a higher P/S ratio. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, it's hard to see the share price experience a reversal of fortunes anytime soon.

Having said that, be aware China Security 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.