Yahoo Finance Wilmington plc's (LON:WIL) Stock Has Been Sliding But Fundamentals Look Strong: Is The Market Wrong?
Wilmington (LON:WIL) has had a rough month with its share price down 11%. 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 Wilmington'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 Wilmington
How Is ROE Calculated?
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 Wilmington is:
25% = UK£14m ÷ UK£57m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).
The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each £1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made £0.25 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. 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.
Wilmington's Earnings Growth And 25% ROE
Firstly, we acknowledge that Wilmington has a significantly high ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 14% the company's ROE is quite impressive. Despite this, Wilmington's five year net income growth was quite flat over the past five years. So, there could be some other aspects that could potentially be preventing the company from growing. For example, it could be that the company has a high payout ratio or the business has allocated capital poorly, for instance.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Wilmington's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 0.6% in the same period, which is great to see.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is WIL fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.
Is Wilmington Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
The high three-year median payout ratio of 54% (meaning, the company retains only 46% of profits) for Wilmington suggests that the company's earnings growth was miniscule as a result of paying out a majority of its earnings.
Additionally, Wilmington has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years, which means that the company's management is determined to pay dividends even if it means little to no earnings growth.
Summary
In total, we are pretty happy with Wilmington's performance. We are particularly impressed by the considerable earnings growth posted by the company, which was likely backed by its high ROE. While the company is paying out most of its earnings as dividends, it has been able to grow its earnings in spite of it, so that's probably a good sign. So far, we've only made a quick discussion around the company's earnings growth. To gain further insights into Wilmington's past profit growth, check out this visualization of past earnings, revenue and cash flows.
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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.
