Why Investors Shouldn't Be Surprised By Zedcor Inc.'s (CVE:ZDC) P/S

Zedcor Inc.'s (CVE:ZDC) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 2x may not look like an appealing investment opportunity when you consider close to half the companies in the Trade Distributors industry in Canada have P/S ratios below 0.5x. However, the P/S might be high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

See our latest analysis for Zedcor

How Zedcor Has Been Performing

Recent times have been advantageous for Zedcor as its revenues have been rising faster than most other companies. It seems that many are expecting the strong revenue performance to persist, which has raised the P/S. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

Keen to find out how analysts think Zedcor's future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

How Is Zedcor's Revenue Growth Trending?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as high as Zedcor's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 54% gain to the company's top line. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow revenue by 92% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should demonstrate the company's robustness, generating growth of 21% as estimated by the dual analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the broader industry is forecast to contract by 0.8%, which would indicate the company is doing very well.

In light of this, it's understandable that Zedcor's P/S sits above the majority of other companies. At this time, shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a much more prosperous future.

The Bottom Line On Zedcor's P/S

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.

As we anticipated, our review of Zedcor's analyst forecasts shows that the company's better revenue forecast compared to a turbulent industry is a significant contributor to its high price-to-sales ratio. Outperforming the industry in this manner looks to have provided investors with a bit of confidence that the future will be bright, bolstering the P/S. Questions could still raised over whether this level of outperformance can continue in the context of a a tumultuous industry climate. Otherwise, it's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under the current growth expectations.

You need to take note of risks, for example - Zedcor has 4 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit concerning) we think you should know about.

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.