TerraCom Limited (ASX:TER) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 26% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. The recent drop completes a disastrous twelve months for shareholders, who are sitting on a 58% loss during that time.

Following the heavy fall in price, TerraCom may look like a strong buying opportunity at present with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.5x, considering almost half of all companies in the Oil and Gas industry in Australia have P/S ratios greater than 4.6x and even P/S higher than 74x 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 so limited.

View our latest analysis for TerraCom

What Does TerraCom's Recent Performance Look Like?

As an illustration, revenue has deteriorated at TerraCom over the last year, which is not ideal at all. One possibility is that the P/S is low because investors think the company won't do enough to avoid underperforming the broader industry in the near future. If you 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 earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on TerraCom will help you shine a light on its historical performance.

Is There Any Revenue Growth Forecasted For TerraCom?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far underperform the industry for P/S ratios like TerraCom's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 61% decrease to the company's top line. As a result, revenue from three years ago have also fallen 53% overall. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 5,495% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term revenue results is a sobering picture.

In light of this, it's understandable that TerraCom's P/S would sit below the majority of other companies. 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.

What Does TerraCom's P/S Mean For Investors?

Shares in TerraCom have plummeted and its P/S has followed suit. 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.

It's no surprise that TerraCom maintains its low P/S off the back of its sliding revenue over the medium-term. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises either. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, it's hard to see the share price moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

You need to take note of risks, for example - TerraCom has 4 warning signs (and 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) we think 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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