Yahoo Finance Is Brisbane Broncos Limited's (ASX:BBL) Stock Price Struggling As A Result Of Its Mixed Financials?
It is hard to get excited after looking at Brisbane Broncos' (ASX:BBL) recent performance, when its stock has declined 6.1% over the past three months. We, however decided to study the company's financials to determine if they have got anything to do with the price decline. Stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, and therefore we decided to pay more attention to the company's financial performance. In this article, we decided to focus on Brisbane Broncos' ROE.
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. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.
Check out our latest analysis for Brisbane Broncos
How To 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 Brisbane Broncos is:
3.8% = AU$1.4m ÷ AU$36m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).
The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every A$1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn A$0.04 in profit.
What Has ROE Got To Do With 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.
Brisbane Broncos' Earnings Growth And 3.8% ROE
As you can see, Brisbane Broncos' ROE looks pretty weak. Even compared to the average industry ROE of 11%, the company's ROE is quite dismal. Given the circumstances, the significant decline in net income by 7.5% seen by Brisbane Broncos over the last five years is not surprising. We believe that there also might be other aspects that are negatively influencing the company's earnings prospects. For instance, the company has a very high payout ratio, or is faced with competitive pressures.
With the industry earnings declining at a rate of 7.5% in the same period, we deduce that both the company and the industry are shrinking at the same rate.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. If you're wondering about Brisbane Broncos''s valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.
Is Brisbane Broncos Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Despite having a normal three-year median payout ratio of 43% (where it is retaining 57% of its profits), Brisbane Broncos has seen a decline in earnings as we saw above. So there might be other factors at play here which could potentially be hampering growth. For example, the business has faced some headwinds.
Moreover, Brisbane Broncos has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more suggesting that management must have perceived that the shareholders prefer dividends over earnings growth.
Conclusion
Overall, we have mixed feelings about Brisbane Broncos. Even though it appears to be retaining most of its profits, given the low ROE, investors may not be benefitting from all that reinvestment after all. The low earnings growth suggests our theory correct. Wrapping up, we would proceed with caution with this company and one way of doing that would be to look at the risk profile of the business. Our risks dashboard would have the 3 risks we have identified for Brisbane Broncos.
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.
