Yahoo Finance Centuria Capital Group's (ASX:CNI) Stock Is Rallying But Financials Look Ambiguous: Will The Momentum Continue?
Centuria Capital Group's (ASX:CNI) stock is up by a considerable 36% over the past three months. However, we decided to pay attention to the company's fundamentals which don't appear to give a clear sign about the company's financial health. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Centuria Capital Group's ROE today.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.
Check out our latest analysis for Centuria Capital Group
How To 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 Centuria Capital Group is:
7.5% = AU$106m ÷ AU$1.4b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).
The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every A$1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of A$0.07.
What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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. 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.
Centuria Capital Group's Earnings Growth And 7.5% ROE
When you first look at it, Centuria Capital Group's ROE doesn't look that attractive. However, given that the company's ROE is similar to the average industry ROE of 6.7%, we may spare it some thought. Even so, Centuria Capital Group has shown a fairly decent growth in its net income which grew at a rate of 9.2%. Considering the moderately low ROE, it is quite possible that there might be some other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.
We then compared Centuria Capital Group's net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 12% in the same 5-year period, which is a bit concerning.
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. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is Centuria Capital Group fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.
Is Centuria Capital Group Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Centuria Capital Group seems to be paying out most of its income as dividends judging by its three-year median payout ratio of 74%, meaning the company retains only 26% of its income. However, this is typical for REITs as they are often required by law to distribute most of their earnings. Despite this, the company's earnings grew moderately as we saw above.
Moreover, Centuria Capital Group is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 81% of its profits over the next three years. As a result, Centuria Capital Group's ROE is not expected to change by much either, which we inferred from the analyst estimate of 7.4% for future ROE.
Conclusion
Overall, we have mixed feelings about Centuria Capital Group. While no doubt its earnings growth is pretty respectable, the low profit retention could mean that the company's earnings growth could have been higher, had it been paying reinvesting a higher portion of its profits. An improvement in its ROE could also help future earnings growth. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings are expected to accelerate. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
