Those holding Sino Oil and Gas Holdings Limited (HKG:702) shares would be relieved that the share price has rebounded 35% in the last thirty days, but it needs to keep going to repair the recent damage it has caused to investor portfolios. Still, the 30-day jump doesn't change the fact that longer term shareholders have seen their stock decimated by the 51% share price drop in the last twelve months.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, it's still not a stretch to say that Sino Oil and Gas Holdings' price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.5x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the Oil and Gas industry in Hong Kong, where the median P/S ratio is around 0.7x. 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 Sino Oil and Gas Holdings

What Does Sino Oil and Gas Holdings' P/S Mean For Shareholders?

For example, consider that Sino Oil and Gas Holdings' financial performance has been poor lately as its revenue has been in decline. Perhaps investors believe the recent revenue performance is enough to keep in line with the industry, which is keeping the P/S from dropping off. If you like the company, you'd at least be hoping this is the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's not quite in favour.

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

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

Sino Oil and Gas Holdings' P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver moderate growth, and importantly, perform in line with the industry.

In reviewing the last year of financials, we were disheartened to see the company's revenues fell to the tune of 6.6%. Regardless, revenue has managed to lift by a handy 24% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the earlier period of growth. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would be roughly satisfied with the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

When compared to the industry's one-year growth forecast of 0.2%, the most recent medium-term revenue trajectory is noticeably more alluring

With this information, we find it interesting that Sino Oil and Gas Holdings is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. Apparently some shareholders believe the recent performance is at its limits and have been accepting lower selling prices.

The Bottom Line On Sino Oil and Gas Holdings' P/S

Sino Oil and Gas Holdings appears to be back in favour with a solid price jump bringing its P/S back in line with other companies in the industry 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.

To our surprise, Sino Oil and Gas Holdings revealed its three-year revenue trends aren't contributing to its P/S as much as we would have predicted, given they look better than current industry expectations. When we see strong revenue with faster-than-industry growth, we can only assume potential risks are what might be placing pressure on the P/S ratio. It appears some are indeed anticipating revenue instability, because the persistence of these recent medium-term conditions would normally provide a boost to the share price.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Sino Oil and Gas Holdings (of which 3 shouldn't be ignored!) you should know about.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Sino Oil and Gas Holdings, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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