Yahoo Finance Facilities by ADF plc's (LON:ADF) Stock Has Shown Weakness Lately But Financial Prospects Look Decent: Is The Market Wrong?
Facilities by ADF (LON:ADF) has had a rough three months with its share price down 7.2%. But if you pay close attention, you might find that its key financial indicators look quite decent, which could mean that the stock could potentially rise in the long-term given how markets usually reward more resilient long-term fundamentals. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Facilities by ADF'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 simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.
See our latest analysis for Facilities by ADF
How Is ROE Calculated?
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 Facilities by ADF is:
3.2% = UK£794k ÷ UK£25m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).
The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each £1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made £0.03 in profit.
What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?
So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don’t share these attributes.
Facilities by ADF's Earnings Growth And 3.2% ROE
As you can see, Facilities by ADF's ROE looks pretty weak. Even when compared to the industry average of 7.7%, the ROE figure is pretty disappointing. Despite this, surprisingly, Facilities by ADF saw an exceptional 36% net income growth over the past five years. Therefore, there could be other reasons behind this growth. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.
As a next step, we compared Facilities by ADF'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 34% 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. 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 Facilities by ADF's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.
Is Facilities by ADF Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Facilities by ADF has a really low three-year median payout ratio of 22%, meaning that it has the remaining 78% left over to reinvest into its business. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business as evidenced by the growth seen by the company.
While Facilities by ADF has seen growth in its earnings, it only recently started to pay a dividend. It is most likely that the company decided to impress new and existing shareholders with a dividend. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 26% of its profits over the next three years.
Summary
In total, it does look like Facilities by ADF has some positive aspects to its business. With a high rate of reinvestment, albeit at a low ROE, the company has managed to see a considerable growth in its earnings. While we won't completely dismiss the company, what we would do, is try to ascertain how risky the business is to make a more informed decision around the company. Our risks dashboard would have the 4 risks we have identified for Facilities by ADF.
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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.
