Yahoo Finance Are Robust Financials Driving The Recent Rally In The Travelers Companies, Inc.'s (NYSE:TRV) Stock?
Most readers would already be aware that Travelers Companies' (NYSE:TRV) stock increased significantly by 16% over the past three months. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. In this article, we decided to focus on Travelers Companies' ROE.
ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.
View our latest analysis for Travelers Companies
How Is ROE Calculated?
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 Travelers Companies is:
17% = US$3.4b ÷ US$20b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).
The 'return' is the yearly profit. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.17 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. 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 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.
A Side By Side comparison of Travelers Companies' Earnings Growth And 17% ROE
To start with, Travelers Companies' ROE looks acceptable. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 13% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. This certainly adds some context to Travelers Companies' decent 12% net income growth seen over the past five years.
We then performed a comparison between Travelers Companies' net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 12% in the same period.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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. Has the market priced in the future outlook for TRV? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Is Travelers Companies Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Travelers Companies has a three-year median payout ratio of 31%, which implies that it retains the remaining 69% of its profits. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the decent growth seen by the company, it looks like management is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.
Besides, Travelers Companies has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Existing analyst estimates suggest that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 23% over the next three years. Regardless, the ROE is not expected to change much for the company despite the lower expected payout ratio.
Conclusion
Overall, we are quite pleased with Travelers Companies' performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. 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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