With a price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.2x Huadi International Group Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:HUDI) may be sending very bullish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all the Metals and Mining companies in the United States have P/S ratios greater than 2.4x and even P/S higher than 10x are not unusual. However, the P/S might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.
View our latest analysis for Huadi International Group
For instance, Huadi International Group's receding revenue in recent times would have to be some food for thought. Perhaps the market believes the recent revenue performance isn't good enough to keep up the industry, causing the P/S ratio to suffer. However, if this doesn't eventuate then existing shareholders may be feeling optimistic about the future direction of the share price.
Although there are no analyst estimates available for Huadi International Group, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.Huadi International Group's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very poor growth or even falling revenue, and importantly, perform much worse than the industry.
In reviewing the last year of financials, we were disheartened to see the company's revenues fell to the tune of 20%. This means it has also seen a slide in revenue over the longer-term as revenue is down 14% in total over the last three years. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenue over that time.
In contrast to the company, the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 23% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term revenue decline into perspective.
With this in mind, we understand why Huadi International Group's P/S is lower than most of its industry peers. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/S has reached a floor yet with revenue going in reverse. There's potential for the P/S to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its top-line growth.
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.
Our examination of Huadi International Group confirms that the company's shrinking revenue over the past medium-term is a key factor in its low price-to-sales ratio, given the industry is projected to grow. 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.
Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Huadi International Group (1 is concerning!) that you should be aware of.
If strong companies turning a profit tickle your fancy, then you'll want to check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).
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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.