Why Investors Shouldn't Be Surprised By Maral Overseas Limited's (NSE:MARALOVER) Low P/S

When you see that almost half of the companies in the Luxury industry in India have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") above 1.2x, Maral Overseas Limited (NSE:MARALOVER) looks to be giving off some buy signals with its 0.3x P/S ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/S.

See our latest analysis for Maral Overseas

How Has Maral Overseas Performed Recently?

For instance, Maral Overseas' receding revenue in recent times would have to be some food for thought. One possibility is that the P/S is low because investors think the company won't do enough to avoid underperforming the broader industry in the near future. 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.

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 Maral Overseas' earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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

Maral Overseas' P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 1.1% decrease to the company's top line. This has soured the latest three-year period, which nevertheless managed to deliver a decent 25% overall rise in revenue. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would be roughly satisfied with the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 13% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is weaker, based on recent medium-term annualised revenue results.

With this in consideration, it's easy to understand why Maral Overseas' P/S falls short of the mark set by its industry peers. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Final Word

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.

As we suspected, our examination of Maral Overseas revealed its three-year revenue trends are contributing to its low P/S, given they look worse than current industry expectations. 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 experience a reversal of fortunes anytime soon.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider and we've discovered 3 warning signs for Maral Overseas (2 are significant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.