What You Can Learn From Lisi Group (Holdings) Limited's (HKG:526) P/S After Its 27% Share Price Crash

Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Lisi Group (Holdings) Limited (HKG:526) share price has dived 27% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. The good news is that in the last year, the stock has shone bright like a diamond, gaining 243%.

Even after such a large drop in price, it's still not a stretch to say that Lisi Group (Holdings)'s price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.4x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the Consumer Durables industry in Hong Kong, where the median P/S ratio is around 0.5x. 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.

View our latest analysis for Lisi Group (Holdings)

What Does Lisi Group (Holdings)'s P/S Mean For Shareholders?

Lisi Group (Holdings) has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing revenue at a solid pace. Perhaps the market is expecting future revenue performance to only keep up with the broader industry, which has keeping the P/S in line with expectations. Those who are bullish on Lisi Group (Holdings) will be hoping that this isn't the case, so that they can pick up the stock at a lower valuation.

Is There Some Revenue Growth Forecasted For Lisi Group (Holdings)?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should be matching the industry for P/S ratios like Lisi Group (Holdings)'s to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 11% gain to the company's revenues. Pleasingly, revenue has also lifted 37% in aggregate from three years ago, partly thanks to the last 12 months of growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing revenues over that time.

It's interesting to note that the rest of the industry is similarly expected to grow by 13% over the next year, which is fairly even with the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

With this information, we can see why Lisi Group (Holdings) is trading at a fairly similar P/S to the industry. It seems most investors are expecting to see average growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a moderate amount for the stock.

The Bottom Line On Lisi Group (Holdings)'s P/S

Following Lisi Group (Holdings)'s share price tumble, its P/S is just clinging on to the industry median P/S. While the price-to-sales ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of revenue expectations.

It appears to us that Lisi Group (Holdings) maintains its moderate P/S off the back of its recent three-year growth being in line with the wider industry forecast. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/S as they are quite confident future revenue won't throw up any surprises. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, it's hard to see the share price moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Lisi Group (Holdings) (at least 1 which shouldn't be ignored), and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

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.