Yahoo Finance Endeavour Group Limited (ASX:EDV) Is Going Strong But Fundamentals Appear To Be Mixed : Is There A Clear Direction For The Stock?
Most readers would already be aware that Endeavour Group's (ASX:EDV) stock increased significantly by 21% 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. In this article, we decided to focus on Endeavour Group's 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. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.
Check out our latest analysis for Endeavour Group
How To Calculate Return On Equity?
The formula for ROE is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Endeavour Group is:
14% = AU$487m ÷ AU$3.6b (Based on the trailing twelve months to January 2022).
The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each A$1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made A$0.14 in profit.
What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?
We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. 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.
Endeavour Group's Earnings Growth And 14% ROE
At first glance, Endeavour Group seems to have a decent ROE. Even so, when compared with the average industry ROE of 22%, we aren't very excited. Further research shows that Endeavour Group's net income has shrunk at a rate of 3.6% over the last five years. Bear in mind, the company does have a high ROE. It is just that the industry ROE is higher. So there might be other reasons for the earnings to shrink. Such as, the company pays out a huge portion of its earnings as dividends, or is faced with competitive pressures.
As a next step, we compared Endeavour Group's performance with the industry and found thatEndeavour Group's performance is depressing even when compared with the industry, which has shrunk its earnings at a rate of 0.6% in the same period, which is a slower than the company.
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. Has the market priced in the future outlook for EDV? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Is Endeavour Group Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Endeavour Group has a high three-year median payout ratio of 51% (that is, it is retaining 49% of its profits). This suggests that the company is paying most of its profits as dividends to its shareholders. This goes some way in explaining why its earnings have been shrinking. With only a little being reinvested into the business, earnings growth would obviously be low or non-existent.
Only recently, Endeavour Group stated paying a dividend. This likely means that the management might have concluded that its shareholders have a strong preference for dividends. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company is expected to rise to 72% over the next three years. Despite the higher expected payout ratio, the company's ROE is not expected to change by much.
Summary
Overall, we have mixed feelings about Endeavour Group. On the one hand, the company does have a decent rate of return, however, its earnings growth number is quite disappointing and as discussed earlier, the low retained earnings is hampering the growth. That being so, the latest industry analyst forecasts show that the analysts are expecting to see a huge improvement in the company's earnings growth rate. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.
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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.
