Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Oceanus Group Limited (SGX:579) share price has dived 29% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. Instead of being rewarded, shareholders who have already held through the last twelve months are now sitting on a 38% share price drop.

Even after such a large drop in price, it's still not a stretch to say that Oceanus Group's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.4x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the Food industry in Singapore, where the median P/S ratio is around 0.7x. While this might not raise any eyebrows, if the P/S ratio is not justified investors could be missing out on a potential opportunity or ignoring looming disappointment.

Check out our latest analysis for Oceanus Group

What Does Oceanus Group's Recent Performance Look Like?

Recent times have been quite advantageous for Oceanus Group as its revenue has been rising very briskly. It might be that many expect the strong revenue performance to wane, which has kept the share price, and thus the P/S ratio, from rising. Those who are bullish on Oceanus Group will be hoping that this isn't the case, so that they can pick up the stock at a lower valuation.

We don't have analyst forecasts, but you can see how recent trends are setting up the company for the future by checking out our free report on Oceanus Group's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The P/S Ratio?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should be matching the industry for P/S ratios like Oceanus Group's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 30%. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow revenue by 158% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been superb for the company.

This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 6.6% over the next year, materially lower than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

In light of this, it's curious that Oceanus Group's P/S sits in line with the majority of other companies. Apparently some shareholders believe the recent performance is at its limits and have been accepting lower selling prices.

The Final Word

Following Oceanus Group's share price tumble, its P/S is just clinging on to the industry median P/S. It's argued the price-to-sales ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

To our surprise, Oceanus Group revealed its three-year revenue trends aren't contributing to its P/S as much as we would have predicted, given they look better than current industry expectations. When we see strong revenue with faster-than-industry growth, we can only assume potential risks are what might be placing pressure on the P/S ratio. It appears some are indeed anticipating revenue instability, because the persistence of these recent medium-term conditions would normally provide a boost to the share price.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Oceanus Group (at least 2 which are a bit concerning), and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So if growing profitability aligns with your idea of a great company, take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

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