Optimistic Investors Push Kmw Inc. (KOSDAQ:032500) Shares Up 32% But Growth Is Lacking

Kmw Inc. (KOSDAQ:032500) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 32% gain in the last month alone. Not all shareholders will be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down a very disappointing 26% in the last twelve months.

Following the firm bounce in price, when almost half of the companies in Korea's Communications industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1x, you may consider Kmw as a stock not worth researching with its 4.9x P/S ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/S.

Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit.

View our latest analysis for Kmw

How Kmw Has Been Performing

Kmw has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing revenue at a solid pace. It might be that many expect the respectable revenue performance to beat most other companies over the coming period, which has increased investors’ willingness to pay up for the stock. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.

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

How Is Kmw's Revenue Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the industry for P/S ratios like Kmw's to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow revenues by a handy 14% last year. Ultimately though, it couldn't turn around the poor performance of the prior period, with revenue shrinking 44% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 30% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term revenue results is a sobering picture.

In light of this, it's alarming that Kmw's P/S sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the recent poor growth rate and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as a continuation of recent revenue trends is likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.

The Key Takeaway

Kmw's P/S has grown nicely over the last month thanks to a handy boost in the share price. 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.

We've established that Kmw currently trades on a much higher than expected P/S since its recent revenues have been in decline over the medium-term. When we see revenue heading backwards and underperforming the industry forecasts, we feel the possibility of the share price declining is very real, bringing the P/S back into the realm of reasonability. Unless the the circumstances surrounding the recent medium-term improve, it wouldn't be wrong to expect a a difficult period ahead for the company's shareholders.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Kmw (at least 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable), 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).

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.