Yahoo Finance Collins Foods Limited (ASX:CKF) On An Uptrend: Could Fundamentals Be Driving The Stock?
Collins Foods' (ASX:CKF) stock up by 3.4% over the past month. 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 Collins Foods' 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.
See our latest analysis for Collins Foods
How Is ROE Calculated?
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 Collins Foods is:
10% = AU$38m ÷ AU$363m (Based on the trailing twelve months to May 2021).
The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every A$1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn A$0.10 in profit.
Why Is ROE Important For 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.
Collins Foods' Earnings Growth And 10% ROE
To begin with, Collins Foods seems to have a respectable ROE. Even when compared to the industry average of 12% the company's ROE looks quite decent. Despite the moderate return on equity, Collins Foods has posted a net income growth of 4.0% over the past five years. We reckon that a low growth, when returns are moderate could be the result of certain circumstances like low earnings retention or poor allocation of capital.
Next, on comparing Collins Foods' net income growth with the industry, we found that the company's reported growth is similar to the industry average growth rate of 4.0% in the same period.
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. Is CKF fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.
Is Collins Foods Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
Collins Foods has a three-year median payout ratio of 64% (implying that it keeps only 36% of its profits), meaning that it pays out most of its profits to shareholders as dividends, and as a result, the company has seen low earnings growth.
Moreover, Collins Foods has been paying dividends for nine years, which is a considerable amount of time, suggesting that management must have perceived that the shareholders prefer dividends over earnings growth. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 60% of its profits over the next three years. However, Collins Foods' ROE is predicted to rise to 15% despite there being no anticipated change in its payout ratio.
Summary
Overall, we feel that Collins Foods 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. 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.
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.
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