Hangzhou Century Co., Ltd's (SZSE:300078) 29% Dip In Price Shows Sentiment Is Matching Revenues

Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Hangzhou Century Co., Ltd (SZSE:300078) 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 53% share price decline.

Since its price has dipped substantially, Hangzhou Century may be sending buy signals at present with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 2.1x, considering almost half of all companies in the Electronic industry in China have P/S ratios greater than 3.6x and even P/S higher than 7x aren't out of the ordinary. 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 Hangzhou Century

How Has Hangzhou Century Performed Recently?

It looks like revenue growth has deserted Hangzhou Century recently, which is not something to boast about. Perhaps the market believes the recent lacklustre revenue performance is a sign of future underperformance relative to industry peers, hurting the P/S. If not, then existing shareholders may be feeling optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

Although there are no analyst estimates available for Hangzhou Century, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The Low P/S Ratio?

Hangzhou Century'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, the company posted a result that saw barely any deviation from a year ago. Whilst it's an improvement, it wasn't enough to get the company out of the hole it was in, with revenue down 33% overall from three years ago. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 26% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term revenue decline into perspective.

With this information, we are not surprised that Hangzhou Century is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. However, we think shrinking revenues are unlikely to lead to a stable P/S over the longer term, which could set up shareholders for future disappointment. There's potential for the P/S to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its top-line growth.

What We Can Learn From Hangzhou Century's P/S?

Hangzhou Century's P/S has taken a dip along with its share price. While the price-to-sales ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of revenue expectations.

Our examination of Hangzhou Century confirms that the company's shrinking revenue over the past medium-term is a key factor in its low price-to-sales ratio, given the industry is projected to grow. 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 moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

It is also worth noting that we have found 3 warning signs for Hangzhou Century (2 make us uncomfortable!) that you need to take into consideration.

If strong companies turning a profit tickle your fancy, then you'll want to check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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