Yahoo Finance Declining Stock and Decent Financials: Is The Market Wrong About The Berkeley Group Holdings plc (LON:BKG)?
It is hard to get excited after looking at Berkeley Group Holdings' (LON:BKG) recent performance, when its stock has declined 17% 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 Berkeley Group Holdings' ROE today.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.
Check out our latest analysis for Berkeley Group Holdings
How To Calculate Return On Equity?
Return on equity 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 Berkeley Group Holdings is:
13% = UK£423m ÷ UK£3.2b (Based on the trailing twelve months to April 2021).
The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every £1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn £0.13 in profit.
What Has ROE Got To Do With 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.
Berkeley Group Holdings' Earnings Growth And 13% ROE
To begin with, Berkeley Group Holdings seems to have a respectable ROE. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 9.6% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. As you might expect, the 6.4% net income decline reported by Berkeley Group Holdings is a bit of a surprise. Therefore, there might be some other aspects that could explain this. Such as, the company pays out a huge portion of its earnings as dividends, or is faced with competitive pressures.
From the 6.7% decline reported by the industry in the same period, we infer that Berkeley Group Holdings and its industry are both shrinking at a similar rate.
Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is Berkeley Group Holdings fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.
Is Berkeley Group Holdings Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
While the company did payout a portion of its dividend in the past, it currently doesn't pay a dividend. This implies that potentially all of its profits are being reinvested in the business.
Conclusion
In total, it does look like Berkeley Group Holdings has some positive aspects to its business. Yet, the low earnings growth is a bit concerning, especially given that the company has a high rate of return and is reinvesting ma huge portion of its profits. By the looks of it, there could be some other factors, not necessarily in control of the business, that's preventing growth. Having said that, looking at current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings growth rate is expected to see a huge improvement. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.
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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