Unity Group Holdings International Limited's (HKG:1539) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 11.3x may look like a poor investment opportunity when you consider close to half the companies in the Trade Distributors industry in Hong Kong have P/S ratios below 0.4x. However, the P/S might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Check out our latest analysis for Unity Group Holdings International

How Has Unity Group Holdings International Performed Recently?

Recent times have been quite advantageous for Unity Group Holdings International as its revenue has been rising very briskly. Perhaps the market is expecting future revenue performance to outperform the wider market, which has seemingly got people interested in the stock. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.

Although there are no analyst estimates available for Unity Group Holdings International, 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 steep as Unity Group Holdings International's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the industry decidedly.

If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 58%. Pleasingly, revenue has also lifted 70% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been superb for the company.

Comparing that to the industry, which is only predicted to deliver 3.0% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is stronger based on recent medium-term annualised revenue results.

With this information, we can see why Unity Group Holdings International is trading at such a high P/S compared to the industry. Presumably shareholders aren't keen to offload something they believe will continue to outmanoeuvre the wider industry.

What We Can Learn From Unity Group Holdings International's P/S?

We'd say the price-to-sales ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

We've established that Unity Group Holdings International maintains its high P/S on the strength of its recent three-year growth being higher than the wider industry forecast, as expected. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/S as they are quite confident revenue aren't under threat. Barring any significant changes to the company's ability to make money, the share price should continue to be propped up.

Plus, you should also learn about these 2 warning signs we've spotted with Unity Group Holdings International (including 1 which doesn't sit too well with us).

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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