Yahoo Finance Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE:SSTK) Stock Has Shown Weakness Lately But Financials Look Strong: Should Prospective Shareholders Make The Leap?
Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) has had a rough three months with its share price down 6.7%. But if you pay close attention, you might gather that its strong financials could mean that the stock could potentially see an increase in value in the long-term, given how markets usually reward companies with good financial health. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Shutterstock's ROE today.
ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.
See our latest analysis for Shutterstock
How Is ROE Calculated?
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 Shutterstock is:
17% = US$94m ÷ US$541m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).
The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.17.
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. 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.
Shutterstock's Earnings Growth And 17% ROE
At first glance, Shutterstock seems to have a decent ROE. Especially when compared to the industry average of 7.4% the company's ROE looks pretty impressive. Probably as a result of this, Shutterstock was able to see an impressive net income growth of 24% over the last five years. However, there could also be other causes behind this growth. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.
As a next step, we compared Shutterstock'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 6.0%.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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. Is SSTK fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.
Is Shutterstock Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Shutterstock has a three-year median payout ratio of 35% (where it is retaining 65% of its income) which is not too low or not too high. By the looks of it, the dividend is well covered and Shutterstock is reinvesting its profits efficiently as evidenced by its exceptional growth which we discussed above.
Additionally, Shutterstock has paid dividends over a period of four years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 26% over the next three years. Regardless, the ROE is not expected to change much for the company despite the lower expected payout ratio.
Summary
Overall, we are quite pleased with Shutterstock's performance. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a sizeable growth in its earnings. 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.
