Kyivstar Group Ltd.'s (NASDAQ:KYIV) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 3.1x may not look like an appealing investment opportunity when you consider close to half the companies in the Wireless Telecom industry in the United States have P/S ratios below 1.3x. 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.
View our latest analysis for Kyivstar Group
Recent times have been advantageous for Kyivstar Group as its revenues have been rising faster than most other companies. It seems the market expects this form will continue into the future, hence the elevated P/S ratio. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.
If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Kyivstar Group.In order to justify its P/S ratio, Kyivstar Group would need to produce impressive growth in excess of the industry.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 18% gain to the company's top line. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 30% overall rise in revenue, aided by its short-term performance. Accordingly, shareholders would have definitely welcomed those medium-term rates of revenue growth.
Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 7.2% each year as estimated by the seven analysts watching the company. With the industry only predicted to deliver 5.0% each year, the company is positioned for a stronger revenue result.
With this in mind, it's not hard to understand why Kyivstar Group's P/S is high relative to its industry peers. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.
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.
We've established that Kyivstar Group maintains its high P/S on the strength of its forecasted revenue growth being higher than the the rest of the Wireless Telecom industry, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in revenues is quite remote, justifying the elevated P/S ratio. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.
There are also other vital risk factors to consider and we've discovered 2 warning signs for Kyivstar Group (1 is concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
If companies with solid past earnings growth is up your alley, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.
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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.