There wouldn't be many who think Knowles Corporation's (NYSE:KN) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 2x is worth a mention when the median P/S for the Electronic industry in the United States is similar at about 1.9x. 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.

What Does Knowles' Recent Performance Look Like?

Recent times have been pleasing for Knowles as its revenue has risen in spite of the industry's average revenue going into reverse. Perhaps the market is expecting its current strong performance to taper off in accordance to the rest of the industry, which has kept the P/S contained. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's not quite in favour.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The P/S Ratio?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should be matching the industry for P/S ratios like Knowles' to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 14% gain to the company's revenues. However, this wasn't enough as the latest three year period has seen an unpleasant 6.9% overall drop in revenue. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to slump, contracting by 19% during the coming year according to the three analysts following the company. That's not great when the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 9.0%.

In light of this, it's somewhat alarming that Knowles' P/S sits in line with the majority of other companies. Apparently many investors in the company reject the analyst cohort's pessimism and aren't willing to let go of their stock right now. There's a good chance these shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the negative growth outlook.

The Bottom Line On Knowles' P/S

Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-sales ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

While Knowles' P/S isn't anything out of the ordinary for companies in the industry, we didn't expect it given forecasts of revenue decline. When we see a gloomy outlook like this, our immediate thoughts are that the share price is at risk of declining, negatively impacting P/S. If the declining revenues were to materialize in the form of a declining share price, shareholders will be feeling the pinch.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Knowles you should know about.

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).

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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.