Yahoo Finance With EPS Growth And More, SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust (TSE:SRU.UN) Is Interesting
Like a puppy chasing its tail, some new investors often chase 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without revenue, let alone profit. And in their study titled Who Falls Prey to the Wolf of Wall Street?' Leuz et. al. found that it is 'quite common' for investors to lose money by buying into 'pump and dump' schemes.
If, on the other hand, you like companies that have revenue, and even earn profits, then you may well be interested in SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust (TSE:SRU.UN). While profit is not necessarily a social good, it's easy to admire a business that can consistently produce it. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, unless its owners have an endless appetite for subsidizing the customer, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else breathe its last breath.
Check out our latest analysis for SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust
How Fast Is SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust Growing?
If you believe that markets are even vaguely efficient, then over the long term you'd expect a company's share price to follow its earnings per share (EPS). It's no surprise, then, that I like to invest in companies with EPS growth. Impressively, SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust has grown EPS by 25% per year, compound, in the last three years. If the company can sustain that sort of growth, we'd expect shareholders to come away winners.
I like to take a look at earnings before interest and (EBIT) tax margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. I note that SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust's revenue from operations was lower than its revenue in the last twelve months, so that could distort my analysis of its margins. The good news is that SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 5.5 percentage points to 66%, over the last year. That's great to see, on both counts.
In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings, and revenue, over time. For finer detail, click on the image.
While it's always good to see growing profits, you should always remember that a weak balance sheet could come back to bite. So check SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust's balance sheet strength, before getting too excited.
Are SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
I like company leaders to have some skin in the game, so to speak, because it increases alignment of incentives between the people running the business, and its true owners. So it is good to see that SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. Notably, they have an enormous stake in the company, worth CA$501m. This suggests to me that leadership will be very mindful of shareholders' interests when making decisions!
It's good to see that insiders are invested in the company, but are remuneration levels reasonable? Well, based on the CEO pay, I'd say they are indeed. For companies with market capitalizations between CA$2.5b and CA$8.0b, like SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust, the median CEO pay is around CA$3.6m.
The CEO of SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust only received CA$1.1m in total compensation for the year ending . That looks like modest pay to me, and may hint at a certain respect for the interests of shareholders. CEO compensation is hardly the most important aspect of a company to consider, but when its reasonable that does give me a little more confidence that leadership are looking out for shareholder interests. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.
Does SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?
You can't deny that SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust has grown its earnings per share at a very impressive rate. That's attractive. If that's not enough, consider also that the CEO pay is quite reasonable, and insiders are well-invested alongside other shareholders. Each to their own, but I think all this makes SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust look rather interesting indeed. We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 3 warning signs for SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust (2 are a bit unpleasant!) that you need to be mindful of.
Of course, you can do well (sometimes) buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But as a growth investor I always like to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a free list of them here.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.
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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.
