You may think that with a price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 2x Kingston Resources Limited (ASX:KSN) is definitely a stock worth checking out, seeing as almost half of all the Metals and Mining companies in Australia have P/S ratios greater than 47.7x and even P/S above 332x aren't out of the ordinary. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/S.

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What Does Kingston Resources' P/S Mean For Shareholders?

As an illustration, revenue has deteriorated at Kingston Resources over the last year, which is not ideal at all. Perhaps the market believes the recent revenue performance isn't good enough to keep up the industry, causing the P/S ratio to suffer. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

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

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

In reviewing the last year of financials, we were disheartened to see the company's revenues fell to the tune of 40%. This has erased any of its gains during the last three years, with practically no change in revenue being achieved in total. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing revenue over that time.

Comparing the recent medium-term revenue trends against the industry's one-year growth forecast of 65% shows it's noticeably less attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that Kingston Resources' 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.

What We Can Learn From Kingston Resources' P/S?

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.

Our examination of Kingston Resources confirms that the company's revenue trends over the past three-year years are a key factor in its low price-to-sales ratio, as we suspected, given they fall short of current industry expectations. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in revenue isn't great enough to justify a higher P/S ratio. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Kingston Resources that you should be aware of.

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

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