Shareholders of National Western Life Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWLI) will have been dismayed by the negative share price return over the last three years. What is concerning is that despite positive EPS growth, the share price has not tracked the trend in fundamentals. The AGM coming up on the 18 June 2021 could be an opportunity for shareholders to bring these concerns to the board's attention. They could also influence management through voting on resolutions such as executive remuneration. We discuss below why we think shareholders should be cautious of approving a raise for the CEO at the moment.
See our latest analysis for National Western Life Group
How Does Total Compensation For Ross Moody Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?
At the time of writing, our data shows that National Western Life Group, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$832m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$11m for the year to December 2020. We note that's an increase of 14% above last year. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at US$1.1m.
In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations ranging from US$400m to US$1.6b, the reported median CEO total compensation was US$2.8m. Hence, we can conclude that Ross Moody is remunerated higher than the industry median. Moreover, Ross Moody also holds US$916k worth of National Western Life Group stock directly under their own name.
| Component | 2020 | 2019 | Proportion (2020) |
| Salary | US$1.1m | US$1.0m | 9% |
| Other | US$10m | US$8.7m | 91% |
| Total Compensation | US$11m | US$9.8m | 100% |
Speaking on an industry level, nearly 18% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 82% is other remuneration. National Western Life Group sets aside a smaller share of compensation for salary, in comparison to the overall industry. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.
A Look at National Western Life Group, Inc.'s Growth Numbers
Over the past three years, National Western Life Group, Inc. has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 11% per year. Its revenue is up 33% over the last year.
Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. The combination of strong revenue growth with medium-term EPS improvement certainly points to the kind of growth we like to see. While we don't have analyst forecasts for the company, shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.