The use of ratios to determine value stocks is not new in the investment world. Among the ratios generally used, Price-to-Sales has surfaced as an important tool to determine the value of stocks that are suffering losses or are in the early cycle of development, generating little or no profits.  

Though a loss-making company tends to lose investor attention with a negative Price-to-Earnings ratio, its Price-to-Sales could indicate the hidden strength in its business. This underrated ratio is also used to identify recovery situations or to ensure that a company's growth is not overvalued.

Price-to-Sales is often preferred over Price-to-Earnings, as a company’s earnings are subject to accounting estimates and management manipulation but its sales figures are assumed to be relatively reliable.

A stock’s Price-to-Sales ratio reflects how much investors are paying for each dollar of revenues generated by the company.

If the Price-to-Sales ratio is 1, it means that investors are paying $1 for every $1 of revenues generated by the company. So it goes without saying that a stock with Price-to-Sales below 1 is a good bargain, as investors need to pay less than a dollar for a dollar’s worth. 

In terms of comparison, a stock with a lower Price-to-Sales ratio is more suitable for investment versus a stock with a high Price-to-Sales ratio.

However, one should keep in mind that a company with high debt and a low Price-to-Sales metric is not an ideal choice. The high debt level will have to be paid off at some point, leading to further share issuance and a rise in market cap and ultimately the Price-to-Sales ratio.

In any case, the Price-to-Sales ratio used in isolation can’t do the trick. One should also analyze other ratios like Price/Earnings, Price/Book, Debt/Equity before arriving at any investment decision.

Screening Parameters

Price to Sales less than X Industry Median: The lower the Price-to-Sales ratio, the better.

Price to Earnings using F(1) estimate less than X Industry Median: The lower, the better.

Price to Book (common Equity) less than X Industry Median: This is another parameter to ensure the value feature of a stock.

Debt to Equity (Most Recent) less than X Industry Median: A company with less debt should have a stable Price-to-Sales ratio.

Percentage Change F1 Earnings Estimate Revisions (4 Weeks) greater than zero: Upward estimate revisions add to the optimism.

Current Price greater than or equal to $5: They must all be trading at a minimum of $5 or higher.

Zacks Rank less than or equal to #2: Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy) stocks are known to outperform irrespective of the market environment.

Value Style Score equal to A: Our research shows that stocks with a Value Style Score of ‘A’ or ‘B’ when combined a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 offer the best opportunities in the value investing space.

Here are five of the 15 stocks that qualified the screening:

United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI - Analyst Report)

Tutor Perini Corporation (TPC - Snapshot Report)

Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (SHI - Snapshot Report)

Kirkland's Inc. (KIRK - Analyst Report)

Carnival plc (CUK - Analyst Report)