Those holding Westrock Coffee Company (NASDAQ:WEST) shares would be relieved that the share price has rebounded 26% in the last thirty days, but it needs to keep going to repair the recent damage it has caused to investor portfolios. The bad news is that even after the stocks recovery in the last 30 days, shareholders are still underwater by about 3.0% over the last year.

Although its price has surged higher, there still wouldn't be many who think Westrock Coffee's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.8x is worth a mention when the median P/S in the United States' Food industry is similar at about 0.9x. 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.

How Westrock Coffee Has Been Performing

Westrock Coffee could be doing better as its revenue has been going backwards lately while most other companies have been seeing positive revenue growth. Perhaps the market is expecting its poor revenue performance to improve, keeping the P/S from dropping. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

How Is Westrock Coffee's Revenue Growth Trending?

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

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 4.6% decrease to the company's top line. This has soured the latest three-year period, which nevertheless managed to deliver a decent 20% overall rise in revenue. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a good job of growing revenue over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to climb by 21% during the coming year according to the five analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forecast to only expand by 2.9%, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this information, we find it interesting that Westrock Coffee is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. Apparently some shareholders are skeptical of the forecasts and have been accepting lower selling prices.

What Does Westrock Coffee's P/S Mean For Investors?

Westrock Coffee appears to be back in favour with a solid price jump bringing its P/S back in line with other companies in the industry 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.

We've established that Westrock Coffee currently trades on a lower than expected P/S since its forecasted revenue growth is higher than the wider industry. Perhaps uncertainty in the revenue forecasts are what's keeping the P/S ratio consistent with the rest of the industry. However, if you agree with the analysts' forecasts, you may be able to pick up the stock at an attractive price.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Westrock Coffee, and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

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.