When close to half the companies in the Hospitality industry in the United States have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.3x, you may consider Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 25.3x P/S ratio. However, the P/S might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

How Wingstop Has Been Performing

Recent revenue growth for Wingstop has been in line with the industry. One possibility is that the P/S ratio is high because investors think this modest revenue performance will accelerate. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Wingstop.

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

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Wingstop would need to produce outstanding growth that's well in excess of the industry.

If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 28%. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow revenue by 88% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been superb for the company.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to climb by 19% per annum during the coming three years according to the analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forecast to only expand by 12% each year, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this in mind, it's not hard to understand why Wingstop's P/S is high relative to its industry peers. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Final Word

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 Wingstop's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior revenue outlook is contributing to its high P/S. It appears that shareholders are confident in the company's future revenues, which is propping up the P/S. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Wingstop (2 are significant!) that you should be aware of.

If you're unsure about the strength of Wingstop's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com