The Unisys Corporation (NYSE:UIS) share price has softened a substantial 30% over the previous 30 days, handing back much of the gains the stock has made lately. Longer-term shareholders would now have taken a real hit with the stock declining 3.5% in the last year.

After such a large drop in price, Unisys' price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.2x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the IT industry in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 2x and even P/S above 4x are quite common. However, the P/S might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Check out our latest analysis for Unisys

What Does Unisys' P/S Mean For Shareholders?

Unisys could be doing better as it's been growing revenue less than most other companies lately. It seems that many are expecting the uninspiring revenue performance to persist, which has repressed the growth of the P/S ratio. If you still like the company, you'd be hoping revenue doesn't get any worse and that you could 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 Unisys.

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

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

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow revenues by a handy 2.7% last year. However, due to its less than impressive performance prior to this period, revenue growth is practically non-existent over the last three years overall. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should bring diminished returns, with revenue decreasing 1.1% as estimated by the two analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the broader industry is forecast to expand by 11%, which paints a poor picture.

With this in consideration, we find it intriguing that Unisys' P/S is closely matching its industry peers. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/S has reached a floor yet with revenue going in reverse. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as the weak outlook is weighing down the shares.

What Does Unisys' P/S Mean For Investors?

Unisys' recently weak share price has pulled its P/S back below other IT companies. Using the price-to-sales ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

With revenue forecasts that are inferior to the rest of the industry, it's no surprise that Unisys' P/S is on the lower end of the spectrum. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Plus, you should also learn about these 2 warning signs we've spotted with Unisys.

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.