Yahoo Finance Deutsche Post AG (ETR:DHL) Stock Has Shown Weakness Lately But Financials Look Strong: Should Prospective Shareholders Make The Leap?
It is hard to get excited after looking at Deutsche Post's (ETR:DHL) recent performance, when its stock has declined 14% over the past three months. However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Deutsche Post's ROE today.
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 other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.
View our latest analysis for Deutsche Post
How Is ROE Calculated?
The formula for ROE is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Deutsche Post is:
17% = €3.9b ÷ €23b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).
The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. That means that for every €1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated €0.17 in profit.
What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?
We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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.
Deutsche Post's Earnings Growth And 17% ROE
To start with, Deutsche Post's ROE looks acceptable. Further, the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 18%. This probably goes some way in explaining Deutsche Post's moderate 17% growth over the past five years amongst other factors.
As a next step, we compared Deutsche Post's net income growth with the industry and found that the company has a similar growth figure when compared with the industry average growth rate of 18% in the same period.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. 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 Deutsche Post is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Is Deutsche Post Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
With a three-year median payout ratio of 43% (implying that the company retains 57% of its profits), it seems that Deutsche Post is reinvesting efficiently in a way that it sees respectable amount growth in its earnings and pays a dividend that's well covered.
Moreover, Deutsche Post is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 51%. Therefore, the company's future ROE is also not expected to change by much with analysts predicting an ROE of 17%.
Summary
On the whole, we feel that Deutsche Post's performance has been quite good. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.
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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.
