Yahoo Finance Is Now The Time To Put Games Workshop Group (LON:GAW) On Your Watchlist?
Like a puppy chasing its tail, some new investors often chase 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without revenue, let alone profit. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.'
So if you're like me, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Games Workshop Group (LON:GAW). Even if the shares are fully valued today, most capitalists would recognize its profits as the demonstration of steady value generation. In comparison, loss making companies act like a sponge for capital - but unlike such a sponge they do not always produce something when squeezed.
See our latest analysis for Games Workshop Group
How Quickly Is Games Workshop Group Increasing Earnings Per Share?
If a company can keep growing earnings per share (EPS) long enough, its share price will eventually follow. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. It certainly is nice to see that Games Workshop Group has managed to grow EPS by 24% per year over three years. As a general rule, we'd say that if a company can keep up that sort of growth, shareholders will be smiling.
I like to see top-line growth as an indication that growth is sustainable, and I look for a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin to point to a competitive moat (though some companies with low margins also have moats). The good news is that Games Workshop Group is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 4.2 percentage points to 40%, over the last year. That's great to see, on both counts.
You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. For finer detail, click on the image.
The trick, as an investor, is to find companies that are going to perform well in the future, not just in the past. To that end, right now and today, you can check our visualization of consensus analyst forecasts for future Games Workshop Group EPS 100% free.
Are Games Workshop Group Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
Like the kids in the streets standing up for their beliefs, insider share purchases give me reason to believe in a brighter future. This view is based on the possibility that stock purchases signal bullishness on behalf of the buyer. Of course, we can never be sure what insiders are thinking, we can only judge their actions.
We note that Games Workshop Group insiders spent UK£73k on stock, over the last year; in contrast, we didn't see any selling. That puts the company in a nice light, as it makes me think its leaders are feeling confident. Zooming in, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by CEO & Executive Director Kevin Rountree for UK£28k worth of shares, at about UK£92.70 per share.
I do like that insiders have been buying shares in Games Workshop Group, but there is more evidence of shareholder friendly management. I refer to the very reasonable level of CEO pay. I discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Games Workshop Group with market caps between UK£1.4b and UK£4.6b is about UK£1.4m.
The Games Workshop Group CEO received total compensation of just UK£667k in the year to . That's clearly well below average, so at a glance, that arrangement seems generous to shareholders, and points to a modest remuneration culture. CEO compensation is hardly the most important aspect of a company to consider, but when its reasonable that does give me a little more confidence that leadership are looking out for shareholder interests. I'd also argue reasonable pay levels attest to good decision making more generally.
Is Games Workshop Group Worth Keeping An Eye On?
You can't deny that Games Workshop Group has grown its earnings per share at a very impressive rate. That's attractive. But wait, it gets better. We have seen insider buying and the executive pay seems on the modest side of things. The message I'd take from this quick rundown is that, yes, this stock is worth investigating further. Even so, be aware that Games Workshop Group is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. So if you like the sound of Games Workshop Group, you'll probably love this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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