Korea District Heating Corp.'s (KRX:071320) Shares Leap 39% Yet They're Still Not Telling The Full Story

Korea District Heating Corp. (KRX:071320) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 39% gain in the last month alone. The last 30 days bring the annual gain to a very sharp 41%.

Even after such a large jump in price, Korea District Heating may still be sending bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.1x, since almost half of all companies in the Electric Utilities industry in Korea have P/S ratios greater than 1x and even P/S higher than 3x 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Korea District Heating

How Has Korea District Heating Performed Recently?

The revenue growth achieved at Korea District Heating over the last year would be more than acceptable for most companies. Perhaps the market is expecting this acceptable revenue performance to take a dive, which has kept the P/S suppressed. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be optimistic about the future direction 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 Korea District Heating's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Korea District Heating would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the industry.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew revenue by an impressive 26% last year. Pleasingly, revenue has also lifted 105% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been superb for the company.

Comparing that to the industry, which is only predicted to deliver 0.5% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is stronger based on recent medium-term annualised revenue results.

With this in mind, we find it intriguing that Korea District Heating's P/S isn't as high compared to that of its industry peers. It looks like most investors are not convinced the company can maintain its recent growth rates.

The Bottom Line On Korea District Heating's P/S

The latest share price surge wasn't enough to lift Korea District Heating's P/S close to the industry median. 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 Korea District Heating revealed its three-year revenue trends aren't boosting its P/S anywhere near as much as we would have predicted, given they look better than current industry expectations. Potential investors that are sceptical over continued revenue performance may be preventing the P/S ratio from matching previous strong performance. While recent revenue trends over the past medium-term suggest that the risk of a price decline is low, investors appear to perceive a likelihood of revenue fluctuations in the future.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Korea District Heating (2 don't sit too well with us) 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.