Samkee Corp.'s (KOSDAQ:122350) 26% Share Price Surge Not Quite Adding Up

Samkee Corp. (KOSDAQ:122350) shareholders have had their patience rewarded with a 26% share price jump in the last month. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 19% over that time.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, it's still not a stretch to say that Samkee's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.1x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the Auto Components industry in Korea, where the median P/S ratio is around 0.2x. 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.

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See our latest analysis for Samkee

How Samkee Has Been Performing

For example, consider that Samkee's financial performance has been pretty ordinary lately as revenue growth is non-existent. One possibility is that the P/S is moderate because investors think this benign revenue growth rate might not be enough to outperform the broader industry in the near future. Those who are bullish on Samkee will be hoping that this isn't the case, so that they can pick up the stock at a lower valuation.

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 Samkee's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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

Samkee's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver moderate growth, and importantly, perform in line with the industry.

If we review the last year of revenue, the company posted a result that saw barely any deviation from a year ago. Regardless, revenue has managed to lift by a handy 11% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the earlier period of growth. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.

This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 14% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

With this information, we find it interesting that Samkee is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited recent growth rates and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. Maintaining these prices will be difficult to achieve as a continuation of recent revenue trends is likely to weigh down the shares eventually.

The Bottom Line On Samkee's P/S

Samkee's stock has a lot of momentum behind it lately, which has brought its P/S level with the rest of the industry. It's argued the price-to-sales ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

Our examination of Samkee revealed its poor three-year revenue trends aren't resulting in a lower P/S as per our expectations, given they look worse than current industry outlook. Right now we are uncomfortable with the P/S as this revenue performance isn't likely to support a more positive sentiment for long. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, the probability of a share price decline will become quite substantial, placing shareholders at risk.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Samkee (of which 1 doesn't sit too well with us!) you should know about.

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.