Yahoo Finance Pro Medicus Limited's (ASX:PME) Stock On An Uptrend: Could Fundamentals Be Driving The Momentum?
Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 17% over the last three months. Given that stock prices are usually aligned with a company's financial performance in the long-term, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely to see if they had a hand to play in the recent price move. Specifically, we decided to study Pro Medicus' ROE in this article.
Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.
View our latest analysis for Pro Medicus
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 Pro Medicus is:
44% = AU$44m ÷ AU$102m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).
The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each A$1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made A$0.44 in profit.
What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?
Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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.
Pro Medicus' Earnings Growth And 44% ROE
To begin with, Pro Medicus has a pretty high ROE which is interesting. Additionally, the company's ROE is higher compared to the industry average of 11% which is quite remarkable. As a result, Pro Medicus' exceptional 31% net income growth seen over the past five years, doesn't come as a surprise.
As a next step, we compared Pro Medicus' net income growth with the industry and were disappointed to see that the company's growth is lower than the industry average growth of 48% in the same period.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). 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 Pro Medicus is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Is Pro Medicus Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Pro Medicus' significant three-year median payout ratio of 51% (where it is retaining only 49% of its income) suggests that the company has been able to achieve a high growth in earnings despite returning most of its income to shareholders.
Besides, Pro Medicus has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 49%. Accordingly, forecasts suggest that Pro Medicus' future ROE will be 45% which is again, similar to the current ROE.
Conclusion
On the whole, we do feel that Pro Medicus has some positive attributes. Its earnings growth is decent, and the high ROE does contribute to that growth. However, investors could have benefitted even more from the high ROE, had the company been reinvesting more of its earnings. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. 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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
