Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Sky Quarry Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYQ) share price has dived 30% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. The recent drop completes a disastrous twelve months for shareholders, who are sitting on a 81% loss during that time.
Since its price has dipped substantially, Sky Quarry may be sending buy signals at present with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.4x, considering almost half of all companies in the Oil and Gas industry in the United States have P/S ratios greater than 1.5x and even P/S higher than 4x aren't out of the ordinary. However, the P/S might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.
Check out our latest analysis for Sky Quarry
For instance, Sky Quarry's receding revenue in recent times would have to be some food for thought. One possibility is that the P/S is low because investors think the company won't do enough to avoid underperforming the broader industry in the near future. However, if this doesn't eventuate then existing shareholders may be feeling optimistic 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 Sky Quarry's earnings, revenue and cash flow.There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the industry for P/S ratios like Sky Quarry's to be considered reasonable.
Taking a look back first, the company's revenue growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 47%. Even so, admirably revenue has lifted 101% in aggregate from three years ago, notwithstanding the last 12 months. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would definitely welcome the medium-term rates of revenue growth.
Comparing that recent medium-term revenue trajectory with the industry's one-year growth forecast of 3.1% shows it's noticeably more attractive.
With this in mind, we find it intriguing that Sky Quarry's P/S isn't as high compared to that of its industry peers. It looks like most investors are not convinced the company can maintain its recent growth rates.
Sky Quarry's recently weak share price has pulled its P/S back below other Oil and Gas companies. 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.
Our examination of Sky Quarry revealed its three-year revenue trends aren't boosting its P/S anywhere near as much as we would have predicted, given they look better than current industry expectations. Potential investors that are sceptical over continued revenue performance may be preventing the P/S ratio from matching previous strong performance. It appears many are indeed anticipating revenue instability, because the persistence of these recent medium-term conditions would normally provide a boost to the share price.
Having said that, be aware Sky Quarry is showing 6 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 4 of those make us uncomfortable.
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.