Kin Pang Holdings Limited (HKG:1722) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 815% after a shaky period beforehand. The last month tops off a massive increase of 205% in the last year.

Following the firm bounce in price, given close to half the companies operating in Hong Kong's Construction industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 0.2x, you may consider Kin Pang Holdings as a stock to potentially avoid with its 0.8x P/S ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/S.

See our latest analysis for Kin Pang Holdings

What Does Kin Pang Holdings' P/S Mean For Shareholders?

Kin Pang Holdings certainly has been doing a great job lately as it's been growing its revenue at a really rapid pace. It seems that many are expecting the strong revenue performance to beat most other companies over the coming period, which has increased investors’ willingness to pay up for the stock. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Although there are no analyst estimates available for Kin Pang Holdings, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The High P/S Ratio?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as high as Kin Pang Holdings' is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 32% gain to the company's top line. However, this wasn't enough as the latest three year period has seen the company endure a nasty 25% drop in revenue in aggregate. 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 8.8% 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 alarming that Kin Pang Holdings' P/S sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the recent poor growth rate and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as a continuation of recent revenue trends is likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.

The Bottom Line On Kin Pang Holdings' P/S

Kin Pang Holdings' P/S is on the rise since its shares have risen strongly. 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.

Our examination of Kin Pang Holdings revealed its shrinking revenue over the medium-term isn't resulting in a P/S as low as we expected, given the industry is set to grow. With a revenue decline on investors' minds, the likelihood of a souring sentiment is quite high which could send the P/S back in line with what we'd expect. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve markedly, investors will have a hard time accepting the share price as fair value.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - Kin Pang Holdings has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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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