Yahoo Finance Is The Citadel Group Limited (ASX:CGL) Creating Value For Shareholders?
Today we'll evaluate The Citadel Group Limited (ASX:CGL) to determine whether it could have potential as an investment idea. Specifically, we're going to calculate its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), in the hopes of getting some insight into the business.
First of all, we'll work out how to calculate ROCE. Second, we'll look at its ROCE compared to similar companies. Last but not least, we'll look at what impact its current liabilities have on its ROCE.
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
ROCE measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. All else being equal, a better business will have a higher ROCE. Overall, it is a valuable metric that has its flaws. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussin has suggested that a high ROCE can indicate that 'one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar'.
So, How Do We Calculate ROCE?
Analysts use this formula to calculate return on capital employed:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
Or for Citadel Group:
0.14 = AU$14m ÷ (AU$144m - AU$40m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.)
Therefore, Citadel Group has an ROCE of 14%.
View our latest analysis for Citadel Group
Does Citadel Group Have A Good ROCE?
ROCE can be useful when making comparisons, such as between similar companies. It appears that Citadel Group's ROCE is fairly close to the IT industry average of 15%. Independently of how Citadel Group compares to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms appears decent, and the company may be worthy of closer investigation.
You can click on the image below to see (in greater detail) how Citadel Group's past growth compares to other companies.
When considering ROCE, bear in mind that it reflects the past and does not necessarily predict the future. ROCE can be deceptive for cyclical businesses, as returns can look incredible in boom times, and terribly low in downturns. ROCE is only a point-in-time measure. Future performance is what matters, and you can see analyst predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
Do Citadel Group's Current Liabilities Skew Its ROCE?
Liabilities, such as supplier bills and bank overdrafts, are referred to as current liabilities if they need to be paid within 12 months. The ROCE equation subtracts current liabilities from capital employed, so a company with a lot of current liabilities appears to have less capital employed, and a higher ROCE than otherwise. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets.
Citadel Group has total assets of AU$144m and current liabilities of AU$40m. Therefore its current liabilities are equivalent to approximately 28% of its total assets. Current liabilities are minimal, limiting the impact on ROCE.
The Bottom Line On Citadel Group's ROCE
Overall, Citadel Group has a decent ROCE and could be worthy of further research. There might be better investments than Citadel Group out there, but you will have to work hard to find them . These promising businesses with rapidly growing earnings might be right up your alley.
Citadel Group is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
