China Ever Grand Financial Leasing Group Co., Ltd. (HKG:379) shares have retraced a considerable 41% in the last month, reversing a fair amount of their solid recent performance. Looking at the bigger picture, even after this poor month the stock is up 71% in the last year.

Since its price has dipped substantially, it would be understandable if you think China Ever Grand Financial Leasing Group is a stock with good investment prospects with a price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") of 1.5x, considering almost half the companies in Hong Kong's Diversified Financial industry have P/S ratios above 2x. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/S.

View our latest analysis for China Ever Grand Financial Leasing Group

How Has China Ever Grand Financial Leasing Group Performed Recently?

China Ever Grand Financial Leasing Group certainly has been doing a great job lately as it's been growing its revenue at a really rapid pace. It might be that many expect the strong revenue performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/S ratio. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

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 China Ever Grand Financial Leasing Group's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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

China Ever Grand Financial Leasing Group's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 89% gain to the company's top line. Despite this strong recent growth, it's still struggling to catch up as its three-year revenue frustratingly shrank by 17% overall. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 17% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term revenue results is a sobering picture.

With this in mind, we understand why China Ever Grand Financial Leasing Group's P/S is lower than most of its industry peers. However, we think shrinking revenues are unlikely to lead to a stable P/S over the longer term, which could set up shareholders for future disappointment. There's potential for the P/S to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its top-line growth.

What We Can Learn From China Ever Grand Financial Leasing Group's P/S?

The southerly movements of China Ever Grand Financial Leasing Group's shares means its P/S is now sitting at a pretty low level. 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 China Ever Grand Financial Leasing Group revealed its shrinking revenue over the medium-term is contributing to its low P/S, given the industry is set to grow. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises either. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 3 warning signs for China Ever Grand Financial Leasing Group (2 are a bit concerning!) that you need to be mindful of.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.