Solocal Group S.A. (EPA:LOCAL) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 26% after a shaky period beforehand. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 71% in the last year.
In spite of the firm bounce in price, Solocal Group may still be sending buy signals at present with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.4x, considering almost half of all companies in the Interactive Media and Services industry in France have P/S ratios greater than 1.9x and even P/S higher than 5x aren't out of the ordinary. However, the P/S might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.
See our latest analysis for Solocal Group
Solocal Group hasn't been tracking well recently as its declining revenue compares poorly to other companies, which have seen some growth in their revenues on average. The P/S ratio is probably low because investors think this poor revenue performance isn't going to get any better. If you still like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.
Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on Solocal Group will help you uncover what's on the horizon.In order to justify its P/S ratio, Solocal Group would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the industry.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered virtually the same number to the company's top line as the year before. Whilst it's an improvement, it wasn't enough to get the company out of the hole it was in, with revenue down 19% overall from three years ago. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenue over that time.
Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to slump, contracting by 0.5% during the coming year according to the two analysts following the company. With the industry predicted to deliver 5.1% growth, that's a disappointing outcome.
In light of this, it's understandable that Solocal Group's P/S would sit below the majority of other companies. However, shrinking revenues are unlikely to lead to a stable P/S over the longer term. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as the weak outlook is weighing down the shares.
Solocal Group's 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.
With revenue forecasts that are inferior to the rest of the industry, it's no surprise that Solocal Group's P/S is on the lower end of the spectrum. 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.
And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Solocal Group (of which 1 is potentially serious!) you should know about.
If you're unsure about the strength of Solocal Group's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.
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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.