Yahoo Finance Is Now The Time To Put Experian (LON:EXPN) On Your Watchlist?
Investors are often guided by the idea of discovering 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without any revenue, let alone profit. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. 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 Experian (LON:EXPN). Now this is not to say that the company presents the best investment opportunity around, but profitability is a key component to success in business.
View our latest analysis for Experian
How Quickly Is Experian Increasing Earnings Per Share?
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) outcomes. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. We can see that in the last three years Experian grew its EPS by 16% per year. That growth rate is fairly good, assuming the company can keep it up.
Top-line growth is a great indicator that growth is sustainable, and combined with a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin, it's a great way for a company to maintain a competitive advantage in the market. EBIT margins for Experian remained fairly unchanged over the last year, however the company should be pleased to report its revenue growth for the period of 5.0% to US$6.8b. 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. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.
While we live in the present moment, there's little doubt that the future matters most in the investment decision process. So why not check this interactive chart depicting future EPS estimates, for Experian?
Are Experian Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
Owing to the size of Experian, we wouldn't expect insiders to hold a significant proportion of the company. But we do take comfort from the fact that they are investors in the company. Given insiders own a significant chunk of shares, currently valued at US$47m, they have plenty of motivation to push the business to succeed. This should keep them focused on creating long term value for shareholders.
Is Experian Worth Keeping An Eye On?
As previously touched on, Experian is a growing business, which is encouraging. If that's not enough on its own, there is also the rather notable levels of insider ownership. The combination definitely favoured by investors so consider keeping the company on a watchlist. However, before you get too excited we've discovered 1 warning sign for Experian that you should be aware of.
There's always the possibility of doing well buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But for those who consider these important metrics, we encourage you to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a tailored list of British companies which have demonstrated growth backed by recent insider purchases.
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.
