Yahoo Finance Is Forward Air Corporation's (NASDAQ:FWRD) Stock's Recent Performance A Reflection Of Its Financial Health?
Forward Air's (NASDAQ:FWRD) stock up by 5.8% over the past three months. Since the market usually pay for a company’s long-term financial health, we decided to study the company’s fundamentals to see if they could be influencing the market. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Forward Air's ROE today.
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. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.
See our latest analysis for Forward Air
How To Calculate Return On Equity?
ROE 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 Forward Air is:
28% = US$188m ÷ US$683m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).
The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.28 in profit.
What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?
Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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.
Forward Air's Earnings Growth And 28% ROE
First thing first, we like that Forward Air has an impressive ROE. Second, a comparison with the average ROE reported by the industry of 18% also doesn't go unnoticed by us. This probably laid the groundwork for Forward Air's moderate 12% net income growth seen over the past five years.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Forward Air's reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 20% in the same period, which is not something we like to see.
Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. What is FWRD worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether FWRD is currently mispriced by the market.
Is Forward Air Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
Forward Air's three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 25% (implying that it retains 75% of its income), which is on the lower side, so it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business.
Besides, Forward Air has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 21%. Accordingly, forecasts suggest that Forward Air's future ROE will be 23% which is again, similar to the current ROE.
Conclusion
Overall, we are quite pleased with Forward Air's performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. As a result, the decent growth in its earnings is not surprising. Having said that, the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down, as forecasted in the current analyst estimates. 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.
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