Yahoo Finance Will Weakness in Duke Royalty Limited's (LON:DUKE) Stock Prove Temporary Given Strong Fundamentals?
It is hard to get excited after looking at Duke Royalty's (LON:DUKE) recent performance, when its stock has declined 9.2% over the past three months. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Duke Royalty's ROE today.
Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.
See our latest analysis for Duke Royalty
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 Duke Royalty is:
16% = UK£14m ÷ UK£86m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2021).
The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every £1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn £0.16 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. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. 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.
Duke Royalty's Earnings Growth And 16% ROE
To begin with, Duke Royalty seems to have a respectable ROE. Even when compared to the industry average of 17% the company's ROE looks quite decent. This certainly adds some context to Duke Royalty's exceptional 21% net income growth seen over the past five years. However, there could also be other drivers 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.
Next, on comparing Duke Royalty's net income growth with the industry, we found that the company's reported growth is similar to the industry average growth rate of 21% in the same period.
Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. If you're wondering about Duke Royalty's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.
Is Duke Royalty Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Duke Royalty's three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 18%, which is quite low. This implies that the company is retaining 82% of its profits. So it looks like Duke Royalty is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business, which shows in its earnings growth.
Additionally, Duke Royalty 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 rise to 90% over the next three years. Therefore, the expected rise in the payout ratio explains why the company's ROE is expected to decline to 10% over the same period.
Conclusion
In total, we are pretty happy with Duke Royalty's performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. That being so, according to the latest industry analyst forecasts, the company's earnings are expected to shrink 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. 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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