To the annoyance of some shareholders, Nanjing Wondux Environmental Protection Technology Corp., Ltd. (SHSE:688178) shares are down a considerable 26% in the last month, which continues a horrid run for the company. For any long-term shareholders, the last month ends a year to forget by locking in a 54% share price decline.

Since its price has dipped substantially, Nanjing Wondux Environmental Protection Technology may be sending buy signals at present with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.9x, considering almost half of all companies in the Commercial Services industry in China have P/S ratios greater than 2.6x and even P/S higher than 5x aren't out of the ordinary. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/S.

How Has Nanjing Wondux Environmental Protection Technology Performed Recently?

For example, consider that Nanjing Wondux Environmental Protection Technology's financial performance has been poor lately as its revenue has been in decline. One possibility is that the P/S is low because investors think the company won't do enough to avoid underperforming the broader industry in the near future. However, if this doesn't eventuate then existing shareholders may be feeling optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

How Is Nanjing Wondux Environmental Protection Technology's Revenue Growth Trending?

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

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 2.0% decrease to the company's top line. That put a dampener on the good run it was having over the longer-term as its three-year revenue growth is still a noteworthy 5.6% in total. Although it's been a bumpy ride, it's still fair to say the revenue growth recently has been mostly respectable for the company.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 28% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is weaker, based on recent medium-term annualised revenue results.

With this in consideration, it's easy to understand why Nanjing Wondux Environmental Protection Technology's P/S falls short of the mark set by its industry peers. It seems most investors are expecting to see the recent limited growth rates continue into the future and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

What Does Nanjing Wondux Environmental Protection Technology's P/S Mean For Investors?

The southerly movements of Nanjing Wondux Environmental Protection Technology's shares means its P/S is now sitting at a pretty low level. 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.

In line with expectations, Nanjing Wondux Environmental Protection Technology maintains its low P/S on the weakness of its recent three-year growth being lower than the wider industry forecast. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in revenue isn't great enough to justify a higher P/S ratio. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, it's hard to see the share price experience a reversal of fortunes anytime soon.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider and we've discovered 3 warning signs for Nanjing Wondux Environmental Protection Technology (2 don't sit too well with us!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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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