PBF Energy Inc.'s (NYSE:PBF) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.1x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the Oil and Gas industry in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 1.8x and even P/S above 5x are quite common. However, the P/S might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Check out our latest analysis for PBF Energy

How Has PBF Energy Performed Recently?

With revenue that's retreating more than the industry's average of late, PBF Energy has been very sluggish. Perhaps the market isn't expecting future revenue performance to improve, which has kept the P/S suppressed. So while you could say the stock is cheap, investors will be looking for improvement before they see it as good value. If not, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on PBF Energy.

What Are Revenue Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/S?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as low as PBF Energy's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 13% decrease to the company's top line. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 54% overall rise in revenue, in spite of its unsatisfying short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a very good job of growing revenue over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should bring diminished returns, with revenue decreasing 7.1% as estimated by the analysts watching the company. That's not great when the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 9.3%.

In light of this, it's understandable that PBF Energy's P/S would sit below the majority of other companies. However, shrinking revenues are unlikely to lead to a stable P/S over the longer term. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as the weak outlook is weighing down the shares.

The Bottom Line On PBF Energy's P/S

While the price-to-sales ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of revenue expectations.

As we suspected, our examination of PBF Energy's analyst forecasts revealed that its outlook for shrinking revenue is contributing to its low P/S. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Plus, you should also learn about this 1 warning sign we've spotted with PBF Energy.

If companies with solid past earnings growth is up your alley, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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