The Original Juice Co. Ltd's (ASX:OJC) Price Is Out Of Tune With Revenues

It's not a stretch to say that The Original Juice Co. Ltd's (ASX:OJC) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.9x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" for companies in the Food industry in Australia, where the median P/S ratio is around 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 Original Juice

What Does Original Juice's P/S Mean For Shareholders?

Original Juice has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing revenue at a solid pace. One possibility is that the P/S is moderate because investors think this respectable revenue growth might not be enough to outperform the broader industry in the near future. 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 not quite in favour.

Want the full picture on earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on Original Juice will help you shine a light on its historical performance.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The P/S Ratio?

Original Juice'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 grew revenue by an impressive 24% last year. The latest three year period has also seen a 20% overall rise in revenue, aided extensively by its short-term performance. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been respectable for the company.

This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 9.2% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

With this information, we find it interesting that Original Juice is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. Apparently many investors in the company are less bearish than recent times would indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock right now. Maintaining these prices will be difficult to achieve as a continuation of recent revenue trends is likely to weigh down the shares eventually.

What Does Original Juice's P/S Mean For Investors?

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 Original Juice revealed its poor three-year revenue trends aren't resulting in a lower P/S as per our expectations, given they look worse than current industry outlook. When we see weak revenue with slower than industry growth, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, bringing the P/S back in line with expectations. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, it's hard to accept the current share price as fair value.

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 3 warning signs for Original Juice (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you need to be mindful 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com