Yahoo Finance Can Mixed Fundamentals Have A Negative Impact on Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ORA) Current Share Price Momentum?
Ormat Technologies' (NYSE:ORA) stock is up by a considerable 15% over the past three months. However, we decided to pay attention to the company's fundamentals which don't appear to give a clear sign about the company's financial health. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Ormat Technologies' ROE today.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. 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 Ormat Technologies
How Do You 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 Ormat Technologies is:
3.9% = US$77m ÷ US$2.0b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).
The 'return' is the profit 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 $0.04 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. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.
Ormat Technologies' Earnings Growth And 3.9% ROE
It is quite clear that Ormat Technologies' ROE is rather low. A comparison with the industry shows that the company's ROE is pretty similar to the average industry ROE of 4.1%. Therefore, it might not be wrong to say that the five year net income decline of 8.6% seen by Ormat Technologies was possibly a result of the disappointing ROE.
Furthermore, even when compared to the industry, which has been shrinking its earnings at a rate 2.5% in the same period, we found that Ormat Technologies' performance is pretty disappointing, as it suggests that the company has been shrunk its earnings at a rate faster than the industry.
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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. 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 Ormat Technologies is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Is Ormat Technologies Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Despite having a normal three-year median payout ratio of 27% (where it is retaining 73% of its profits), Ormat Technologies has seen a decline in earnings as we saw above. So there might be other factors at play here which could potentially be hampering growth. For example, the business has faced some headwinds.
Moreover, Ormat Technologies has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more suggesting that management must have perceived that the shareholders prefer dividends over earnings growth. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 28%. Regardless, the future ROE for Ormat Technologies is predicted to rise to 8.2% despite there being not much change expected in its payout ratio.
Summary
In total, we're a bit ambivalent about Ormat Technologies' performance. While the company does have a high rate of reinvestment, the low ROE means that all that reinvestment is not reaping any benefit to its investors, and moreover, its having a negative impact on the earnings growth. With that said, we studied the latest analyst forecasts and found that while the company has shrunk its earnings in the past, analysts expect its earnings to grow 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.
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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.
