The Market Doesn't Like What It Sees From Corsa Coal Corp.'s (CVE:CSO) Revenues Yet

Corsa Coal Corp.'s (CVE:CSO) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.2x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the Metals and Mining industry in Canada, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 2.1x and even P/S above 15x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/S.

View our latest analysis for Corsa Coal

How Corsa Coal Has Been Performing

Corsa Coal has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing revenue at a solid pace. It might be that many expect the respectable revenue performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/S. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

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

How Is Corsa Coal's Revenue Growth Trending?

Corsa Coal's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the industry.

If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 16%. The latest three year period has also seen a 17% overall rise in revenue, aided extensively by its short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has actually done a good job of growing revenue over that time.

This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 16% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

In light of this, it's understandable that Corsa Coal's P/S sits below the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Key Takeaway

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.

In line with expectations, Corsa Coal maintains its low P/S on the weakness of its recent three-year growth being lower than the wider industry forecast. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in revenue isn't great enough to justify a higher P/S ratio. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, it's hard to see the share price experience a reversal of fortunes anytime soon.

It is also worth noting that we have found 2 warning signs for Corsa Coal that you need to take into consideration.

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.