A Piece Of The Puzzle Missing From Unitas Holdings Limited's (HKG:8020) 26% Share Price Climb

Unitas Holdings Limited (HKG:8020) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 26% gain in the last month alone. While recent buyers may be laughing, long-term holders might not be as pleased since the recent gain only brings the stock back to where it started a year ago.

Even after such a large jump in price, it's still not a stretch to say that Unitas Holdings' price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.7x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the Logistics industry in Hong Kong, where the median P/S ratio is around 0.3x. Although, it's not wise to simply ignore the P/S without explanation as investors may be disregarding a distinct opportunity or a costly mistake.

View our latest analysis for Unitas Holdings

What Does Unitas Holdings' P/S Mean For Shareholders?

For instance, Unitas Holdings' receding revenue in recent times would have to be some food for thought. One possibility is that the P/S is moderate because investors think the company might still do enough to be in line with the broader industry in the near future. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

We don't have analyst forecasts, but you can see how recent trends are setting up the company for the future by checking out our free report on Unitas Holdings' earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The P/S Ratio?

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

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 3.1%. In spite of this, the company still managed to deliver immense revenue growth over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders will be pleased, but also have some serious questions to ponder about the last 12 months.

Comparing that to the industry, which is only predicted to deliver 14% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is stronger based on recent medium-term annualised revenue results.

With this information, we find it interesting that Unitas Holdings is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. It may be that most investors are not convinced the company can maintain its recent growth rates.

The Key Takeaway

Unitas Holdings' stock has a lot of momentum behind it lately, which has brought its P/S level with the rest of the industry. 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.

We've established that Unitas Holdings currently trades on a lower than expected P/S since its recent three-year growth is higher than the wider industry forecast. It'd be fair to assume that potential risks the company faces could be the contributing factor to the lower than expected P/S. It appears some are indeed anticipating revenue instability, because the persistence of these recent medium-term conditions would normally provide a boost to the share price.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Unitas Holdings that you should be aware of.

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.

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