To the annoyance of some shareholders, China Tourism And Culture Investment Group Co.,Ltd (SHSE:600358) shares are down a considerable 25% in the last month, which continues a horrid run for the company. The drop over the last 30 days has capped off a tough year for shareholders, with the share price down 47% in that time.

After such a large drop in price, considering around half the companies operating in China's Hospitality industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") above 5.8x, you may consider China Tourism And Culture Investment GroupLtd as an solid investment opportunity with its 2.9x 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 Has China Tourism And Culture Investment GroupLtd Performed Recently?

For instance, China Tourism And Culture Investment GroupLtd's receding revenue in recent times would have to be some food for thought. It might be that many expect the disappointing revenue performance to continue or accelerate, which has repressed the P/S. Those who are bullish on China Tourism And Culture Investment GroupLtd will be hoping that this isn't the case so that they can pick up the stock at a lower valuation.

How Is China Tourism And Culture Investment GroupLtd's Revenue Growth Trending?

China Tourism And Culture Investment GroupLtd's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the industry.

In reviewing the last year of financials, we were disheartened to see the company's revenues fell to the tune of 3.8%. This has erased any of its gains during the last three years, with practically no change in revenue being achieved in total. Therefore, it's fair to say that revenue growth has been inconsistent recently for the company.

This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 29% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

In light of this, it's understandable that China Tourism And Culture Investment GroupLtd's P/S sits below the majority of other companies. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on to something they believe will continue to trail the wider industry.

The Final Word

China Tourism And Culture Investment GroupLtd's P/S has taken a dip along with its share price. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-sales ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

Our examination of China Tourism And Culture Investment GroupLtd 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. 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.

A lot of potential risks can sit within a company's balance sheet. You can assess many of the main risks through our free balance sheet analysis for China Tourism And Culture Investment GroupLtd with six simple checks.

If you're unsure about the strength of China Tourism And Culture Investment GroupLtd'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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