Yahoo Finance Declining Stock and Solid Fundamentals: Is The Market Wrong About Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)?
It is hard to get excited after looking at Ralph Lauren's (NYSE:RL) recent performance, when its stock has declined 8.9% over the past three months. But if you pay close attention, you might gather that its strong financials could mean that the stock could potentially see an increase in value in the long-term, given how markets usually reward companies with good financial health. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Ralph Lauren's ROE today.
Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.
Check out our latest analysis for Ralph Lauren
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 Ralph Lauren is:
21% = US$515m ÷ US$2.5b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).
The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.21.
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. 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 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.
Ralph Lauren's Earnings Growth And 21% ROE
To start with, Ralph Lauren's ROE looks acceptable. Especially when compared to the industry average of 16% the company's ROE looks pretty impressive. This probably laid the ground for Ralph Lauren's moderate 14% net income growth seen over the past five years.
Next, on comparing Ralph Lauren's net income growth with the industry, we found that the company's reported growth is similar to the industry average growth rate of 15% in the same period.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Has the market priced in the future outlook for RL? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Is Ralph Lauren Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Ralph Lauren has a healthy combination of a moderate three-year median payout ratio of 33% (or a retention ratio of 67%) and a respectable amount of growth in earnings as we saw above, meaning that the company has been making efficient use of its profits.
Additionally, Ralph Lauren 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. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 39% of its profits over the next three years. However, Ralph Lauren's ROE is predicted to rise to 29% despite there being no anticipated change in its payout ratio.
Conclusion
In total, we are pretty happy with Ralph Lauren's performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.
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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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