Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR) Stock Catapults 35% Though Its Price And Business Still Lag The Industry

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 35% gain and recovering from prior weakness. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 26% over that time.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, given about half the companies operating in the United States' Energy Services industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") above 1.1x, you may still consider Nabors Industries as an attractive investment 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Nabors Industries

What Does Nabors Industries' Recent Performance Look Like?

Nabors Industries could be doing better as it's been growing revenue less than most other companies lately. The P/S ratio is probably low because investors think this lacklustre revenue performance isn't going to get any better. If this is the case, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Nabors Industries.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The Low P/S Ratio?

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

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow revenues by a handy 3.4% last year. This was backed up an excellent period prior to see revenue up by 58% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing revenues over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the eight analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 4.2% over the next year. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 11% growth forecast for the broader industry.

With this information, we can see why Nabors Industries is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on while the company is potentially eyeing a less prosperous future.

The Key Takeaway

Nabors Industries' stock price has surged recently, but its but its P/S still remains modest. Using the price-to-sales ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

As we suspected, our examination of Nabors Industries' analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior revenue outlook is contributing to its low P/S. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in revenue isn't great enough to justify a higher P/S ratio. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Many other vital risk factors can be found on the company's balance sheet. Our free balance sheet analysis for Nabors Industries with six simple checks will allow you to discover any risks that could be an issue.

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.

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