Yahoo Finance Reach plc's (LON:RCH) Stock Is Rallying But Financials Look Ambiguous: Will The Momentum Continue?
Reach (LON:RCH) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 59% over the last 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. Specifically, we decided to study Reach's ROE in this article.
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 Reach
How To 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 Reach is:
6.9% = UK£45m ÷ UK£653m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).
The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that for every £1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated £0.07 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. 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. 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.
Reach's Earnings Growth And 6.9% ROE
When you first look at it, Reach's ROE doesn't look that attractive. Yet, a closer study shows that the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 6.9%. Having said that, Reach's five year net income decline rate was 18%. Bear in mind, the company does have a slightly low ROE. Therefore, the decline in earnings could also be the result of this.
However, when we compared Reach's growth with the industry we found that while the company's earnings have been shrinking, the industry has seen an earnings growth of 3.9% in the same period. This is quite worrisome.
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. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is RCH fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.
Is Reach Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
While the company did payout a portion of its dividend in the past, it currently doesn't pay a dividend. This implies that potentially all of its profits are being reinvested in the business.
Looking at the current analyst consensus data, we can see that the company's future payout ratio is expected to rise to 21% over the next three years.
Summary
On the whole, we feel that the performance shown by Reach can be open to many interpretations. Even though it appears to be retaining most of its profits, given the low ROE, investors may not be benefitting from all that reinvestment after all. The low earnings growth suggests our theory correct. 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.
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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