Yahoo Finance A.G. BARR p.l.c.'s (LON:BAG) Stock Been Rising: Are Strong Financials Guiding The Market?
Most readers would already know that A.G. BARR's (LON:BAG) stock increased by 8.9% 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 A.G. BARR'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 A.G. BARR
How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?
The formula for return on equity is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for A.G. BARR is:
13% = UK£39m ÷ UK£293m (Based on the trailing twelve months to January 2024).
The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every £1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated £0.13 in profit.
What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?
So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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.
A.G. BARR's Earnings Growth And 13% ROE
At first glance, A.G. BARR seems to have a decent ROE. Even when compared to the industry average of 16% the company's ROE looks quite decent. Despite the moderate return on equity, A.G. BARR has posted a net income growth of 4.5% over the past five years. So, there could be some other factors at play that could be impacting the company's growth. For instance, the company pays out a huge portion of its earnings as dividends, or is faced with competitive pressures.
As a next step, we compared A.G. BARR's net income growth with the industry and found that the company has a similar growth figure when compared with the industry average growth rate of 5.6% 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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Has the market priced in the future outlook for BAG? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Is A.G. BARR Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
While A.G. BARR has a decent three-year median payout ratio of 43% (or a retention ratio of 57%), it has seen very little growth in earnings. So there could be some other explanation in that regard. For instance, the company's business may be deteriorating.
Additionally, A.G. BARR has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years, which means that the company's management is determined to pay dividends even if it means little to no earnings growth. 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 41%. As a result, A.G. BARR's ROE is not expected to change by much either, which we inferred from the analyst estimate of 14% for future ROE.
Conclusion
In total, we are pretty happy with A.G. BARR'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. 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.
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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.
