Hooker Furnishings Corporation (NASDAQ:HOFT) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 30% gain and recovering from prior weakness. Not all shareholders will be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down a very disappointing 34% in the last twelve months.
Even after such a large jump in price, there still wouldn't be many who think Hooker Furnishings' price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.3x is worth a mention when the median P/S in the United States' Consumer Durables industry is similar at about 0.7x. However, investors might be overlooking a clear opportunity or potential setback if there is no rational basis for the P/S.
View our latest analysis for Hooker Furnishings
While the industry has experienced revenue growth lately, Hooker Furnishings' revenue has gone into reverse gear, which is not great. Perhaps the market is expecting its poor revenue performance to improve, keeping the P/S from dropping. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.
Keen to find out how analysts think Hooker Furnishings' future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.There's an inherent assumption that a company should be matching the industry for P/S ratios like Hooker Furnishings' to be considered reasonable.
In reviewing the last year of financials, we were disheartened to see the company's revenues fell to the tune of 6.3%. This means it has also seen a slide in revenue over the longer-term as revenue is down 34% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of revenue growth.
Shifting to the future, estimates from the dual analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 6.1% each year over the next three years. With the industry predicted to deliver 5.2% growth each year, the company is positioned for a comparable revenue result.
With this in mind, it makes sense that Hooker Furnishings' P/S is closely matching its industry peers. Apparently shareholders are comfortable to simply hold on while the company is keeping a low profile.
Hooker Furnishings appears to be back in favour with a solid price jump bringing its P/S back in line with other companies in the industry It's argued the price-to-sales ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.
Our look at Hooker Furnishings' revenue growth estimates show that its P/S is about what we expect, as both metrics follow closely with the industry averages. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement or deterioration in revenue isn't great enough to push P/S in a higher or lower direction. All things considered, if the P/S and revenue estimates contain no major shocks, then it's hard to see the share price moving strongly in either direction in the near future.
There are also other vital risk factors to consider before investing and we've discovered 1 warning sign for Hooker Furnishings that you should be aware of.
Of course, profitable companies with a history of great earnings growth are generally safer bets. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.
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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.