Yahoo Finance Are Strong Financial Prospects The Force That Is Driving The Momentum In Inspiration Healthcare Group plc's LON:IHC) Stock?
Inspiration Healthcare Group's (LON:IHC) stock is up by a considerable 21% over the past three months. Since the market usually pay for a company’s long-term fundamentals, we decided to study the company’s key performance indicators to see if they could be influencing the market. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Inspiration Healthcare Group's ROE today.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.
Check out our latest analysis for Inspiration Healthcare Group
How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?
ROE 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 Inspiration Healthcare Group is:
13% = UK£4.2m ÷ UK£34m (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2021).
The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each £1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made £0.13 in profit.
What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?
So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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. 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.
Inspiration Healthcare Group's Earnings Growth And 13% ROE
To begin with, Inspiration Healthcare Group seems to have a respectable ROE. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 10% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. This certainly adds some context to Inspiration Healthcare Group's exceptional 37% net income growth seen over the past five years. We believe that there might also be other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Inspiration Healthcare Group's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 10% in the same period, which is great to see.
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. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. If you're wondering about Inspiration Healthcare Group's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.
Is Inspiration Healthcare Group Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Inspiration Healthcare Group's ' three-year median payout ratio is on the lower side at 9.7% implying that it is retaining a higher percentage (90%) of its profits. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business as evidenced by the growth seen by the company.
While Inspiration Healthcare Group has seen growth in its earnings, it only recently started to pay a dividend. It is most likely that the company decided to impress new and existing shareholders with a dividend.
Conclusion
Overall, we are quite pleased with Inspiration Healthcare Group's performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. If the company continues to grow its earnings the way it has, that could have a positive impact on its share price given how earnings per share influence long-term share prices. Remember, the price of a stock is also dependent on the perceived risk. Therefore investors must keep themselves informed about the risks involved before investing in any company. To know the 1 risk we have identified for Inspiration Healthcare Group visit our risks dashboard for free.
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.
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