Flotek Industries, Inc. (NYSE:FTK) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 26% gain and recovering from prior weakness. Taking a wider view, although not as strong as the last month, the full year gain of 21% is also fairly reasonable.

Although its price has surged higher, considering around half the companies operating in the United States' Chemicals industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") above 1.4x, you may still consider Flotek Industries as an solid investment opportunity with its 0.9x P/S ratio. However, the P/S might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

What Does Flotek Industries' P/S Mean For Shareholders?

Recent times haven't been great for Flotek Industries as its revenue has been falling quicker than most other companies. It seems that many are expecting the dismal revenue performance to persist, which has repressed the P/S. If you still like the company, you'd want its revenue trajectory to turn around before making any decisions. Or at the very least, you'd be hoping the revenue slide doesn't get any worse if your plan is to pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

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

How Is Flotek Industries' Revenue Growth Trending?

Flotek Industries' P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the industry.

Taking a look back first, the company's revenue growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 8.6%. However, a few very strong years before that means that it was still able to grow revenue by an impressive 284% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would definitely welcome the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the dual analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 16% over the next year. With the industry only predicted to deliver 3.6%, the company is positioned for a stronger revenue result.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Flotek Industries' P/S sits below the majority of other companies. Apparently some shareholders are doubtful of the forecasts and have been accepting significantly lower selling prices.

The Bottom Line On Flotek Industries' P/S

The latest share price surge wasn't enough to lift Flotek Industries' P/S close to the industry median. 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.

A look at Flotek Industries' revenues reveals that, despite glowing future growth forecasts, its P/S is much lower than we'd expect. When we see strong growth forecasts like this, we can only assume potential risks are what might be placing significant pressure on the P/S ratio. It appears the market could be anticipating revenue instability, because these conditions should normally provide a boost to the share price.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So if growing profitability aligns with your idea of a great company, take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

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.