Valhi, Inc. (NYSE:VHI) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 26% after a shaky period beforehand.    Longer-term shareholders would be thankful for the recovery in the share price since it's now virtually flat for the year after the recent bounce.  

Even after such a large jump in price, considering around half the companies operating in the United States' Chemicals industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") above 1.4x, you may still consider Valhi as an solid investment opportunity with its 0.2x P/S ratio.   However, the P/S might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.  

NYSE:VHI Price to Sales Ratio vs Industry April 6th 2024

How Valhi Has Been Performing

For instance, Valhi's receding revenue in recent times would have to be some food for thought.   Perhaps the market believes the recent revenue performance isn't good enough to keep up the industry, causing the P/S ratio to suffer.  Those who are bullish on Valhi will be hoping that this isn't the case so that they can pick up the stock at a lower valuation.    

Although there are no analyst estimates available for Valhi, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.  

What Are Revenue Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/S?  

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as low as Valhi's is when the company's growth is on track to lag 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 13%.   At least revenue has managed not to go completely backwards from three years ago in aggregate, thanks to the earlier period of growth.  Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.  

This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 5.8% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

In light of this, it's understandable that Valhi'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.  

The Final Word

Despite Valhi's share price climbing recently, its P/S still lags most other companies.      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.

As we suspected, our examination of Valhi 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.  Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.    

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 2 warning signs for Valhi that you need to be mindful of.  

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Valhi, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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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.