Yahoo Finance Is Brenntag SE's (ETR:BNR) Recent Stock Performance Tethered To Its Strong Fundamentals?
Most readers would already be aware that Brenntag's (ETR:BNR) stock increased significantly by 18% over the past month. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. In this article, we decided to focus on Brenntag's ROE.
ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.
Check out our latest analysis for Brenntag
How To Calculate Return On Equity?
The formula for return on equity is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Brenntag is:
17% = €860m ÷ €5.0b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).
The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each €1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made €0.17 in profit.
What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?
Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.
A Side By Side comparison of Brenntag's Earnings Growth And 17% ROE
To begin with, Brenntag seems to have a respectable ROE. Further, the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 16%. Consequently, this likely laid the ground for the decent growth of 12% seen over the past five years by Brenntag.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Brenntag's reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 15% in the same period, which is not something we like to see.
Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. 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. 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 Brenntag is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Is Brenntag Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
With a three-year median payout ratio of 41% (implying that the company retains 59% of its profits), it seems that Brenntag is reinvesting efficiently in a way that it sees respectable amount growth in its earnings and pays a dividend that's well covered.
Additionally, Brenntag has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Existing analyst estimates suggest that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 31% over the next three years. However, the company's ROE is not expected to change by much despite the lower expected payout ratio.
Summary
On the whole, we feel that Brenntag's performance has been quite good. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. As a result, the decent growth in its earnings is not surprising. That being so, according to the latest industry analyst forecasts, the company's earnings are expected to shrink in the future. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page for the company.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
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