Pinning Down K. H. Group Holdings Limited's (HKG:1557) P/S Is Difficult Right Now

When close to half the companies in the Construction industry in Hong Kong have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 0.3x, you may consider K. H. Group Holdings Limited (HKG:1557) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 1.5x 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.

Check out our latest analysis for K. H. Group Holdings

What Does K. H. Group Holdings' Recent Performance Look Like?

For instance, K. H. Group Holdings' receding revenue in recent times would have to be some food for thought. One possibility is that the P/S is high because investors think the company will still do enough to outperform the broader industry in the near future. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.

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

How Is K. H. Group Holdings' Revenue Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, K. H. Group Holdings would need to produce impressive growth in excess of the industry.

Taking a look back first, the company's revenue growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 61%. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk revenue by 71% in aggregate. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 12% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term revenue decline into perspective.

With this information, we find it concerning that K. H. Group Holdings is trading at a P/S higher than the industry. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than recent times would indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. There's a very good chance existing shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the recent negative growth rates.

What We Can Learn From K. H. Group Holdings' P/S?

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-sales ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

We've established that K. H. Group Holdings currently trades on a much higher than expected P/S since its recent revenues have been in decline over the medium-term. With a revenue decline on investors' minds, the likelihood of a souring sentiment is quite high which could send the P/S back in line with what we'd expect. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve markedly, investors will have a hard time accepting the share price as fair value.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider and we've discovered 4 warning signs for K. H. Group Holdings (2 make us uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So if growing profitability aligns with your idea of a great company, take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

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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.