SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SMHI) shareholders that were waiting for something to happen have been dealt a blow with a 28% share price drop in the last month. For any long-term shareholders, the last month ends a year to forget by locking in a 62% share price decline.

Even after such a large drop in price, there still wouldn't be many who think SEACOR Marine Holdings' price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.5x is worth a mention when the median P/S in the United States' Energy Services industry is similar at about 0.8x. Although, it's not wise to simply ignore the P/S without explanation as investors may be disregarding a distinct opportunity or a costly mistake.

Check out our latest analysis for SEACOR Marine Holdings

What Does SEACOR Marine Holdings' P/S Mean For Shareholders?

SEACOR Marine Holdings could be doing better as its revenue has been going backwards lately while most other companies have been seeing positive revenue growth. Perhaps the market is expecting its poor revenue performance to improve, keeping the P/S from dropping. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.

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

Is There Some Revenue Growth Forecasted For SEACOR Marine Holdings?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, SEACOR Marine Holdings would need to produce growth that's similar to the industry.

In reviewing the last year of financials, we were disheartened to see the company's revenues fell to the tune of 2.9%. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 59% overall rise in revenue, in spite of its unsatisfying short-term performance. Although it's been a bumpy ride, it's still fair to say the revenue growth recently has been more than adequate for the company.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to climb by 2.1% during the coming year according to the sole analyst following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forecast to expand by 3.9%, which is not materially different.

In light of this, it's understandable that SEACOR Marine Holdings' P/S sits in line with the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see average future growth and are only willing to pay a moderate amount for the stock.

The Bottom Line On SEACOR Marine Holdings' P/S

Following SEACOR Marine Holdings' 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.

Our look at SEACOR Marine Holdings' revenue growth estimates show that its P/S is about what we expect, as both metrics follow closely with the industry averages. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement or deterioration in revenue isn't great enough to push P/S in a higher or lower direction. All things considered, if the P/S and revenue estimates contain no major shocks, then it's hard to see the share price moving strongly in either direction in the near future.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - SEACOR Marine Holdings has 1 warning sign 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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