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Andrews Sykes Group plc (LON:ASY) On An Uptrend: Could Fundamentals Be Driving The Stock?

Most readers would already know that Andrews Sykes Group's (LON:ASY) stock increased by 8.2% over the past three months. Given that stock prices are usually aligned with a company's financial performance in the long-term, we decided to investigate if the company's decent financials had a hand to play in the recent price move. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Andrews Sykes Group'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 Andrews Sykes Group

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

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Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Andrews Sykes Group is:

24% = UK£16m ÷ UK£65m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every £1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn £0.24 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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 everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

A Side By Side comparison of Andrews Sykes Group's Earnings Growth And 24% ROE

First thing first, we like that Andrews Sykes Group has an impressive ROE. Second, a comparison with the average ROE reported by the industry of 20% also doesn't go unnoticed by us. This likely paved the way for the modest 7.1% net income growth seen by Andrews Sykes Group over the past five years. growth

As a next step, we compared Andrews Sykes Group's net income growth with the industry and were disappointed to see that the company's growth is lower than the industry average growth of 10% in the same period.

past-earnings-growth
past-earnings-growth

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. If you're wondering about Andrews Sykes Group's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Andrews Sykes Group Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

The high three-year median payout ratio of 65% (or a retention ratio of 35%) for Andrews Sykes Group suggests that the company's growth wasn't really hampered despite it returning most of its income to its shareholders.

Moreover, Andrews Sykes Group is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of nine years of paying a dividend.

Conclusion

Overall, we feel that Andrews Sykes Group certainly does have some positive factors to consider. Its earnings growth is decent, and the high ROE does contribute to that growth. However, investors could have benefitted even more from the high ROE, had the company been reinvesting more of its earnings. So far, we've only made a quick discussion around the company's earnings growth. To gain further insights into Andrews Sykes Group's past profit growth, check out this visualization of past earnings, revenue and cash flows.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.