A Piece Of The Puzzle Missing From Delek Group Ltd.'s (TLV:DLEKG) Share Price

With a price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.7x Delek Group Ltd. (TLV:DLEKG) may be sending bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all the Oil and Gas companies in Israel have P/S ratios greater than 1.3x and even P/S higher than 4x are not unusual. 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 Delek Group

What Does Delek Group's P/S Mean For Shareholders?

Delek Group has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing revenue at a solid pace. Perhaps the market is expecting this acceptable revenue performance to take a dive, which has kept the P/S suppressed. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

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

What Are Revenue Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/S?

Delek Group'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 worthy increase of 9.1%. This was backed up an excellent period prior to see revenue up by 89% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have definitely welcomed those medium-term rates of revenue growth.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the industry is expected to decline by 2.5% over the next year, which puts the company's recent medium-term positive growth rates in a good light for now.

With this information, we find it very odd that Delek Group is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. Apparently some shareholders believe the recent performance has exceeded its limits and have been accepting significantly lower selling prices.

What Does Delek Group's P/S Mean For Investors?

We'd say the price-to-sales ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

Our examination of Delek Group revealed that despite growing revenue over the medium-term in a shrinking industry, the P/S doesn't reflect this as it's lower than the industry average. We think potential risks might be placing significant pressure on the P/S ratio and share price. Perhaps there is some hesitation about the company's ability to stay its recent course and swim against the current of the broader industry turmoil. It appears many are indeed anticipating revenue instability, because this relative performance should normally provide a boost to the share price.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 5 warning signs with Delek Group (at least 1 which is concerning), and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.