With a median price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of close to 0.7x in the Luxury industry in the United States, you could be forgiven for feeling indifferent about Hanesbrands Inc.'s (NYSE:HBI) P/S ratio of 0.5x. While this might not raise any eyebrows, if the P/S ratio is not justified investors could be missing out on a potential opportunity or ignoring looming disappointment.

What Does Hanesbrands' P/S Mean For Shareholders?

Recent times have been advantageous for Hanesbrands as its revenues have been rising faster than most other companies. It might be that many expect the strong revenue performance to wane, which has kept the P/S ratio from rising. If the company manages to stay the course, then investors should be rewarded with a share price that matches its revenue figures.

Is There Some Revenue Growth Forecasted For Hanesbrands?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Hanesbrands would need to produce growth that's similar to the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 8.2% gain to the company's revenues. Still, lamentably revenue has fallen 17% in aggregate from three years ago, which is disappointing. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the six analysts covering the company suggest revenue growth is heading into negative territory, declining 12% per year over the next three years. That's not great when the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 6.5% per annum.

With this information, we find it concerning that Hanesbrands is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. 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.

What Does Hanesbrands' P/S Mean For Investors?

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.

It appears that Hanesbrands currently trades on a higher than expected P/S for a company whose revenues are forecast to 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 poor revenue outlook tells us one thing, it's that these current price levels could be unsustainable.

Having said that, be aware Hanesbrands is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis, you should know about.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So if growing profitability aligns with your idea of a great company, take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

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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.