Yahoo Finance NCC Group plc's (LON:NCC) Has Performed Well But Fundamentals Look Varied: Is There A Clear Direction For The Stock?
Most readers would already know that NCC Group's (LON:NCC) stock increased by 9.6% over the past three months. However, we decided to study the company's mixed-bag of fundamentals to assess what this could mean for future share prices, as stock prices tend to be aligned with a company's long-term financial performance. In this article, we decided to focus on NCC Group's ROE.
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 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 NCC Group
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 NCC Group is:
3.3% = UK£9.1m ÷ UK£273m (Based on the trailing twelve months to November 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 £0.03 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. 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 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.
NCC Group's Earnings Growth And 3.3% ROE
At first glance, NCC Group's ROE doesn't look very promising. Next, when compared to the average industry ROE of 9.2%, the company's ROE leaves us feeling even less enthusiastic. However, we we're pleasantly surprised to see that NCC Group grew its net income at a significant rate of 49% in the last five years. We reckon that there could be other factors at play here. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.
As a next step, we compared NCC Group's net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 25%.
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. Is NCC Group fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.
Is NCC Group Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
NCC Group's very high three-year median payout ratio of 131% suggests that the company is paying more to its shareholders than what it is earning. In spite of this, the company was able to grow its earnings significantly, as we saw above. With that said, it could be worth keeping an eye on the high payout ratio as that's a huge risk. Our risks dashboard should have the 2 risks we have identified for NCC Group.
Besides, NCC Group has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Existing analyst estimates suggest that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 34% over the next three years.
Conclusion
On the whole, we feel that the performance shown by NCC Group can be open to many interpretations. Although the company has shown a pretty impressive growth in earnings, yet the low ROE and the low rate of reinvestment makes us skeptical about the continuity of that growth, especially when or if the business comes to face any threats. Having said that, the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down, as forecasted in the current analyst estimates. 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.
