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It is hard to get excited after looking at Dewhurst Group's (LON:DWHT) recent performance, when its stock has declined 14% over the past three months. However, the company's fundamentals look pretty decent, and long-term financials are usually aligned with future market price movements. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Dewhurst Group's ROE today.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.
View our latest analysis for Dewhurst Group
How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?
The formula for ROE is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Dewhurst Group is:
9.2% = UK£5.4m ÷ UK£59m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2023).
The 'return' is the yearly profit. So, this means that for every £1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of £0.09.
Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?
Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.
Dewhurst Group's Earnings Growth And 9.2% ROE
When you first look at it, Dewhurst Group's ROE doesn't look that attractive. Yet, a closer study shows that the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 9.2%. Even so, Dewhurst Group has shown a fairly decent growth in its net income which grew at a rate of 14%. Given the slightly low ROE, it is likely that there could be some other aspects that are driving this growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Dewhurst Group's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 9.6% in the same period, which is great to see.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if Dewhurst Group is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.