Pavillon Holdings Ltd. (SGX:596) shares have had a horrible month, losing 36% after a relatively good period beforehand. Longer-term shareholders would now have taken a real hit with the stock declining 5.9% in the last year.

Even after such a large drop in price, you could still be forgiven for feeling indifferent about Pavillon Holdings' P/S ratio of 1.3x, since the median price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio for the Hospitality industry in Singapore is also close to 1.6x. However, investors might be overlooking a clear opportunity or potential setback if there is no rational basis for the P/S.

View our latest analysis for Pavillon Holdings

What Does Pavillon Holdings' Recent Performance Look Like?

As an illustration, revenue has deteriorated at Pavillon Holdings over the last year, which is not ideal at all. One possibility is that the P/S is moderate because investors think the company might still do enough to be in line with the broader industry in the near future. 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.

Want the full picture on earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on Pavillon Holdings will help you shine a light on its historical performance.

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

The only time you'd be comfortable seeing a P/S like Pavillon Holdings' is when the company's growth is tracking the industry closely.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 1.8% decrease to the company's top line. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 88% overall rise in revenue, in spite of its unsatisfying short-term performance. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would definitely welcome the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

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

With this information, we find it interesting that Pavillon Holdings is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. It may be that most investors are not convinced the company can maintain its recent growth rates.

The Bottom Line On Pavillon Holdings' P/S

Pavillon Holdings' plummeting stock price has brought its P/S back to a similar region as the rest of the industry. Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-sales ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

To our surprise, Pavillon 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.

Before you take the next step, you should know about the 3 warning signs for Pavillon Holdings (1 can't be ignored!) that we have uncovered.

If strong companies turning a profit tickle your fancy, then you'll want to check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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.