Yahoo Finance Was Zurich Insurance Group AG’s (VTX:ZURN) Earnings Growth Better Than The Industry’s?
Assessing Zurich Insurance Group AG’s (VTX:ZURN) past track record of performance is an insightful exercise for investors. It allows us to reflect on whether or not the company has met or exceed expectations, which is a great indicator for future performance. Today I will assess ZURN’s recent performance announced on 30 June 2018 and evaluate these figures to its long-term trend and industry movements.
View our latest analysis for Zurich Insurance Group
Could ZURN beat the long-term trend and outperform its industry?
ZURN’s trailing twelve-month earnings (from 30 June 2018) of US$3.3b has increased by 6.2% compared to the previous year.
Furthermore, this one-year growth rate has exceeded its 5-year annual growth average of -9.0%, indicating the rate at which ZURN is growing has accelerated. What’s the driver of this growth? Well, let’s take a look at whether it is solely because of an industry uplift, or if Zurich Insurance Group has experienced some company-specific growth.
In terms of returns from investment, Zurich Insurance Group has fallen short of achieving a 20% return on equity (ROE), recording 11% instead. However, its return on assets (ROA) of 0.9% exceeds the CH Insurance industry of 0.7%, indicating Zurich Insurance Group has used its assets more efficiently. Though, its return on capital (ROC), which also accounts for Zurich Insurance Group’s debt level, has declined over the past 3 years from 1.8% to 1.7%.
What does this mean?
Zurich Insurance Group’s track record can be a valuable insight into its earnings performance, but it certainly doesn’t tell the whole story. Recent positive growth doesn’t necessarily mean it’s onwards and upwards for the company. I recommend you continue to research Zurich Insurance Group to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for ZURN’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for ZURN’s outlook.
Financial Health: Are ZURN’s operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why we’ve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here.
Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 30 June 2018. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.