When close to half the companies operating in the Food industry in Singapore have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") above 0.7x, you may consider Japfa Ltd. (SGX:UD2) as an attractive investment with its 0.1x P/S ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/S.

How Japfa Has Been Performing

Recent times have been pleasing for Japfa as its revenue has risen in spite of the industry's average revenue going into reverse. One possibility is that the P/S ratio is low because investors think the company's revenue is going to fall away like everyone else's soon. If not, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

Keen to find out how analysts think Japfa's future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

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

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

Retrospectively, the last year delivered virtually the same number to the company's top line as the year before. Regardless, revenue has managed to lift by a handy 14% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the earlier period of growth. Therefore, it's fair to say that revenue growth has been inconsistent recently for the company.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to climb by 2.1% per year during the coming three years according to the sole analyst following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forecast to expand by 3.6% per year, which is not materially different.

With this information, we find it odd that Japfa is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. It may be that most investors are not convinced the company can achieve future growth expectations.

What Does Japfa's P/S Mean For Investors?

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-sales ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

Our examination of Japfa's revealed that its P/S remains low despite analyst forecasts of revenue growth matching the wider industry. The low P/S could be an indication that the revenue growth estimates are being questioned by the market. Perhaps investors are concerned that the company could underperform against the forecasts over the near term.

Plus, you should also learn about this 1 warning sign we've spotted with Japfa.

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.