Playtech plc's (LON:PTEC) Popularity With Investors Is Under Threat From Overpricing

Explore Playtech's Fair Values from the Community and select yours

When you see that almost half of the companies in the Hospitality industry in the United Kingdom have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.1x, Playtech plc (LON:PTEC) looks to be giving off some sell signals with its 1.7x P/S ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's as high as it is.

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See our latest analysis for Playtech

How Playtech Has Been Performing

Recent revenue growth for Playtech has been in line with the industry. Perhaps the market is expecting future revenue performance to improve, justifying the currently elevated P/S. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

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

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The High P/S Ratio?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should outperform the industry for P/S ratios like Playtech's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 9.9% gain to the company's revenues. Ultimately though, it couldn't turn around the poor performance of the prior period, with revenue shrinking 30% in total over the last three years. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the five analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 1.1% per year over the next three years. With the industry predicted to deliver 6.3% growth each year, the company is positioned for a weaker revenue result.

With this in consideration, we believe it doesn't make sense that Playtech's P/S is outpacing its industry peers. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than analysts indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as this level of revenue growth is likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.

What We Can Learn From Playtech's P/S?

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.

We've concluded that Playtech currently trades on a much higher than expected P/S since its forecast growth is lower than the wider industry. The weakness in the company's revenue estimate doesn't bode well for the elevated P/S, which could take a fall if the revenue sentiment doesn't improve. At these price levels, investors should remain cautious, particularly if things don't improve.

Plus, you should also learn about this 1 warning sign we've spotted with Playtech.

If companies with solid past earnings growth is up your alley, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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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.