Unfortunately for some shareholders, the WLS Holdings Limited (HKG:8021) share price has dived 29% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. For any long-term shareholders, the last month ends a year to forget by locking in a 60% share price decline.
Although its price has dipped substantially, given close to half the companies operating in Hong Kong's Construction industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 0.4x, you may still consider WLS Holdings as a stock to potentially avoid with its 2.2x P/S ratio. However, the P/S might be high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.
Check out our latest analysis for WLS Holdings
For example, consider that WLS Holdings' financial performance has been poor lately as its revenue has been in decline. It might be that many expect the company to still outplay most other companies over the coming period, which has kept the P/S from collapsing. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.
Although there are no analyst estimates available for WLS Holdings, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.WLS Holdings' P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver solid growth, and importantly, perform better than the industry.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 4.0% decrease to the company's top line. This means it has also seen a slide in revenue over the longer-term as revenue is down 58% in total over the last three years. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenue over that time.
Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 20% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term revenue results is a sobering picture.
In light of this, it's alarming that WLS Holdings' P/S sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than recent times would indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as a continuation of recent revenue trends is likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.
There's still some elevation in WLS Holdings' P/S, even if the same can't be said for its share price recently. 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.
Our examination of WLS Holdings revealed its shrinking revenue over the medium-term isn't resulting in a P/S as low as we expected, given the industry is set to grow. When we see revenue heading backwards and underperforming the industry forecasts, we feel the possibility of the share price declining is very real, bringing the P/S back into the realm of reasonability. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve markedly, investors will have a hard time accepting the share price as fair value.
It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with WLS Holdings, and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on WLS Holdings, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.
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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.