AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 27% gain in the last month alone. The last month tops off a massive increase of 143% in the last year.
Since its price has surged higher, AngloGold Ashanti may be sending sell signals at present with a price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 4.6x, when you consider almost half of the companies in the Metals and Mining industry in the United States have P/S ratios under 2.7x and even P/S lower than 0.5x aren't out of the ordinary. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's as high as it is.
See our latest analysis for AngloGold Ashanti
AngloGold Ashanti certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing revenue more than most other companies. It seems that many are expecting the strong revenue performance to persist, which has raised the P/S. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.
Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on AngloGold Ashanti will help you uncover what's on the horizon.AngloGold Ashanti's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver solid growth, and importantly, perform better than the industry.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 55% gain to the company's top line. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow revenue by 81% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing revenue over that time.
Shifting to the future, estimates from the eight analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 7.7% each year over the next three years. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forecast to expand by 13% per annum, which is noticeably more attractive.
With this in consideration, we believe it doesn't make sense that AngloGold Ashanti's P/S is outpacing its industry peers. It seems most investors are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects, but the analyst cohort is not so confident this will happen. There's a good chance these shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.
AngloGold Ashanti shares have taken a big step in a northerly direction, but its P/S is elevated as a result. 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.
Despite analysts forecasting some poorer-than-industry revenue growth figures for AngloGold Ashanti, this doesn't appear to be impacting the P/S in the slightest. When we see a weak revenue outlook, we suspect the share price faces a much greater risk of declining, bringing back down the P/S figures. This places shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.
Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 1 warning sign for AngloGold Ashanti that you should be aware of.
If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on AngloGold Ashanti, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.
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