Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance Company (TADAWUL:8240) Shares May Have Slumped 28% But Getting In Cheap Is Still Unlikely

Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance Company (TADAWUL:8240) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 28% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. Looking at the bigger picture, even after this poor month the stock is up 51% in the last year.

Although its price has dipped substantially, when almost half of the companies in Saudi Arabia's Insurance industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.3x, you may still consider Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance as a stock not worth researching with its 6.8x P/S ratio. However, the P/S might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Check out our latest analysis for Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance

What Does Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance's Recent Performance Look Like?

For example, consider that Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance's financial performance has been poor lately as its revenue has been in decline. It might be that many expect the company to still outplay most other companies over the coming period, which has kept the P/S from collapsing. If not, then existing shareholders may be quite nervous about the viability of the share price.

Although there are no analyst estimates available for Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Is There Enough Revenue Growth Forecasted For Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance would need to produce outstanding growth that's well in excess of the industry.

Taking a look back first, the company's revenue growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 31%. This has soured the latest three-year period, which nevertheless managed to deliver a decent 11% overall rise in revenue. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a good job of growing revenue over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 19% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is weaker, based on recent medium-term annualised revenue results.

With this information, we find it concerning that Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance is trading at a P/S higher than the industry. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than recent times would indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. 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.

What Does Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance's P/S Mean For Investors?

Even after such a strong price drop, Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance's P/S still exceeds the industry median significantly. 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.

The fact that Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance currently trades on a higher P/S relative to the industry is an oddity, since its recent three-year growth is lower than the wider industry forecast. When we observe slower-than-industry revenue growth alongside a high P/S ratio, we assume there to be a significant risk of the share price decreasing, which would result in a lower P/S ratio. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve markedly, it's very challenging to accept these the share price as being reasonable.

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 2 warning signs for Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance (1 is a bit concerning!) that you need to be mindful of.

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.