Waterco's (ASX:WAT) stock is up by 4.2% over the past three months. Given that stock prices are usually aligned with a company's financial performance in the long-term, we decided to investigate if the company's decent financials had a hand to play in the recent price move. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Waterco's ROE today.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.
See our latest analysis for Waterco
How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?
ROE can be calculated by using the formula:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Waterco is:
6.0% = AU$6.3m ÷ AU$105m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).
The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every A$1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn A$0.06 in profit.
Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?
We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. 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.
A Side By Side comparison of Waterco's Earnings Growth And 6.0% ROE
When you first look at it, Waterco's ROE doesn't look that attractive. A quick further study shows that the company's ROE doesn't compare favorably to the industry average of 12% either. However, we we're pleasantly surprised to see that Waterco grew its net income at a significant rate of 25% in the last five years. We reckon that there could be other factors at play here. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.
We then compared Waterco's net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 17% in the same period.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. If you're wondering about Waterco's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.