To the annoyance of some shareholders, Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) shares are down a considerable 25% in the last month, which continues a horrid run for the company. For any long-term shareholders, the last month ends a year to forget by locking in a 58% share price decline.

In spite of the heavy fall in price, it's still not a stretch to say that Leggett & Platt's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.4x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the Consumer Durables industry in the United States, where the median P/S ratio is around 0.8x. However, investors might be overlooking a clear opportunity or potential setback if there is no rational basis for the P/S.

How Has Leggett & Platt Performed Recently?

Leggett & Platt hasn't been tracking well recently as its declining revenue compares poorly to other companies, which have seen some growth in their revenues on average. Perhaps the market is expecting its poor revenue performance to improve, keeping the P/S from dropping. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a relatively elevated price for a company with this sort of growth profile.

Is There Some Revenue Growth Forecasted For Leggett & Platt?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should be matching the industry for P/S ratios like Leggett & Platt's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 8.5% decrease to the company's top line. That put a dampener on the good run it was having over the longer-term as its three-year revenue growth is still a noteworthy 5.1% in total. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a good job of growing revenue over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to climb by 0.4% per year during the coming three years according to the four analysts following the company. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 5.5% per year growth forecast for the broader industry.

With this in mind, we find it intriguing that Leggett & Platt's P/S is closely matching its industry peers. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited growth expectations and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. Maintaining these prices will be difficult to achieve as this level of revenue growth is likely to weigh down the shares eventually.

What We Can Learn From Leggett & Platt's P/S?

Following Leggett & Platt's share price tumble, its P/S is just clinging on to the industry median 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.

When you consider that Leggett & Platt's revenue growth estimates are fairly muted compared to the broader industry, it's easy to see why we consider it unexpected to be trading at its current P/S ratio. When we see companies with a relatively weaker revenue outlook compared to the industry, we suspect the share price is at risk of declining, sending the moderate P/S lower. Circumstances like this present a risk to current and prospective investors who may see share prices fall if the low revenue growth impacts the sentiment.

Having said that, be aware Leggett & Platt is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is a bit concerning.

If strong companies turning a profit tickle your fancy, then you'll want to check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.