Yahoo Finance Does Spirax-Sarco Engineering (LON:SPX) Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?
The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. But the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, so investors in these companies may be taking on more risk than they should.
Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like Spirax-Sarco Engineering (LON:SPX). While this doesn't necessarily speak to whether it's undervalued, the profitability of the business is enough to warrant some appreciation - especially if its growing.
Check out our latest analysis for Spirax-Sarco Engineering
Spirax-Sarco Engineering's Improving Profits
Even modest earnings per share growth (EPS) can create meaningful value, when it is sustained reliably from year to year. So EPS growth can certainly encourage an investor to take note of a stock. To the delight of shareholders, Spirax-Sarco Engineering's EPS soared from UK£2.36 to UK£3.19, over the last year. That's a fantastic gain of 35%.
Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. While we note Spirax-Sarco Engineering achieved similar EBIT margins to last year, revenue grew by a solid 13% to UK£1.3b. That's encouraging news for the company!
You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.
Fortunately, we've got access to analyst forecasts of Spirax-Sarco Engineering's future profits. You can do your own forecasts without looking, or you can take a peek at what the professionals are predicting.
Are Spirax-Sarco Engineering Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
It's said that there's no smoke without fire. For investors, insider buying is often the smoke that indicates which stocks could set the market alight. Because often, the purchase of stock is a sign that the buyer views it as undervalued. However, insiders are sometimes wrong, and we don't know the exact thinking behind their acquisitions.
Any way you look at it Spirax-Sarco Engineering shareholders can gain quiet confidence from the fact that insiders shelled out UK£462k to buy stock, over the last year. When you contrast that with the complete lack of sales, it's easy for shareholders to be brimming with joyful expectancy. We also note that it was the Independent Non-Executive Director, Jane Kingston, who made the biggest single acquisition, paying UK£198k for shares at about UK£125 each.
The good news, alongside the insider buying, for Spirax-Sarco Engineering bulls is that insiders (collectively) have a meaningful investment in the stock. As a matter of fact, their holding is valued at UK£12m. That's a lot of money, and no small incentive to work hard. Even though that's only about 0.1% of the company, it's enough money to indicate alignment between the leaders of the business and ordinary shareholders.
While insiders already own a significant amount of shares, and they have been buying more, the good news for ordinary shareholders does not stop there. That's because Spirax-Sarco Engineering's CEO, Nick Anderson, is paid at a relatively modest level when compared to other CEOs for companies of this size. The median total compensation for CEOs of companies similar in size to Spirax-Sarco Engineering, with market caps over UK£6.6b, is around UK£4.2m.
The Spirax-Sarco Engineering CEO received UK£3.3m in compensation for the year ending December 2021. That seems pretty reasonable, especially given it's below the median for similar sized companies. While the level of CEO compensation shouldn't be the biggest factor in how the company is viewed, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. Generally, arguments can be made that reasonable pay levels attest to good decision-making.
Is Spirax-Sarco Engineering Worth Keeping An Eye On?
You can't deny that Spirax-Sarco Engineering has grown its earnings per share at a very impressive rate. That's attractive. Furthermore, company insiders have been adding to their significant stake in the company. These things considered, this is one stock worth watching. While we've looked at the quality of the earnings, we haven't yet done any work to value the stock. So if you like to buy cheap, you may want to check if Spirax-Sarco Engineering is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
The good news is that Spirax-Sarco Engineering is not the only growth stock with insider buying. Here's a list of them... with insider buying in the last three months!
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.
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.
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