It's not a stretch to say that Ranpak Holdings Corp.'s (NYSE:PACK) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 1.2x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" for companies in the Packaging industry in the United States, where the median P/S ratio is around 0.9x. However, investors might be overlooking a clear opportunity or potential setback if there is no rational basis for the P/S.
View our latest analysis for Ranpak Holdings
With revenue growth that's inferior to most other companies of late, Ranpak Holdings has been relatively sluggish. One possibility is that the P/S ratio is moderate because investors think this lacklustre revenue performance will turn around. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.
If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Ranpak Holdings.Ranpak Holdings' P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver moderate growth, and importantly, perform in line with the industry.
Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow revenues by a handy 9.5% last year. Revenue has also lifted 9.0% in aggregate from three years ago, partly thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably been satisfied with the medium-term rates of revenue growth.
Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 9.3% as estimated by the three analysts watching the company. With the industry predicted to deliver 7.7% growth , the company is positioned for a comparable revenue result.
In light of this, it's understandable that Ranpak Holdings' P/S sits in line with the majority of other companies. Apparently shareholders are comfortable to simply hold on while the company is keeping a low profile.
Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-sales ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.
We've seen that Ranpak Holdings maintains an adequate P/S seeing as its revenue growth figures match the rest of the industry. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/S as they are quite confident future revenue won't throw up any surprises. If all things remain constant, the possibility of a drastic share price movement remains fairly remote.
And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Ranpak Holdings (of which 1 is potentially serious!) you should know about.
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.