Despite an already strong run, Key Tronic Corporation (NASDAQ:KTCC) shares have been powering on, with a gain of 26% in the last thirty days. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 26% in the last year.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, Key Tronic may still be sending buy signals at present with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.1x, considering almost half of all companies in the Electronic industry in the United States have P/S ratios greater than 1.9x and even P/S higher than 4x aren't out of the ordinary. However, the P/S might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

How Key Tronic Has Been Performing

As an illustration, revenue has deteriorated at Key Tronic over the last year, which is not ideal at all. 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.

Is There Any Revenue Growth Forecasted For Key Tronic?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Key Tronic would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the industry.

Taking a look back first, the company's revenue growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 4.8%. This has soured the latest three-year period, which nevertheless managed to deliver a decent 7.8% overall rise in revenue. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would be roughly satisfied with the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 8.9% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

In light of this, it's understandable that Key Tronic's P/S sits below the majority of other companies. 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 We Can Learn From Key Tronic's P/S?

Despite Key Tronic's share price climbing recently, its P/S still lags most other companies. Using the price-to-sales ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

As we suspected, our examination of Key Tronic revealed its three-year revenue trends are contributing to its low P/S, given they look worse than current industry expectations. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, it's hard to see the share price experience a reversal of fortunes anytime soon.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Key Tronic (at least 1 which doesn't sit too well with us), and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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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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.