Despite an already strong run, Spruce Power Holding Corporation (NYSE:SPRU) shares have been powering on, with a gain of 28% in the last thirty days. The last month tops off a massive increase of 146% in the last year.
Although its price has surged higher, Spruce Power Holding may still be sending buy signals at present with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 1.1x, considering almost half of all companies in the Renewable Energy industry in the United States have P/S ratios greater than 3x and even P/S higher than 8x 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 limited.
View our latest analysis for Spruce Power Holding
Spruce Power Holding certainly has been doing a great job lately as it's been growing its revenue at a really rapid pace. Perhaps the market is expecting future revenue performance to dwindle, which has kept the P/S suppressed. Those who are bullish on Spruce Power Holding will be hoping that this isn't the case, so that they can pick up the stock at a lower valuation.
Want the full picture on earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on Spruce Power Holding will help you shine a light on its historical performance.Spruce Power Holding's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the industry.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 39% gain to the company's top line. Although, its longer-term performance hasn't been as strong with three-year revenue growth being relatively non-existent overall. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing revenue over that time.
This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 31% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.
In light of this, it's understandable that Spruce Power Holding's P/S sits below the majority of other companies. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on to something they believe will continue to trail the wider industry.
Spruce Power Holding's stock price has surged recently, but its but its P/S still remains modest. 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.
As we suspected, our examination of Spruce Power Holding revealed its three-year revenue trends are contributing to its low P/S, given they look worse than current industry expectations. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in revenue isn't great enough to justify a higher P/S ratio. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.
Having said that, be aware Spruce Power Holding is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 2 of those are a bit concerning.
If you're unsure about the strength of Spruce Power Holding'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.