Yahoo Finance Santos Limited's (ASX:STO) Stock On An Uptrend: Could Fundamentals Be Driving The Momentum?
Santos' (ASX:STO) stock is up by a considerable 17% over the past three months. We wonder if and what role the company's financials play in that price change as a company's long-term fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes. In this article, we decided to focus on Santos' ROE.
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. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.
View our latest analysis for Santos
How Is ROE Calculated?
The formula for ROE is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Santos is:
4.8% = US$658m ÷ US$14b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).
The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every A$1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated A$0.05 in profit.
Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?
Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don’t share these attributes.
Santos' Earnings Growth And 4.8% ROE
When you first look at it, Santos' ROE doesn't look that attractive. We then compared the company's ROE to the broader industry and were disappointed to see that the ROE is lower than the industry average of 14%. In spite of this, Santos was able to grow its net income considerably, at a rate of 38% in the last five years. We reckon that there could be other factors at play here. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.
As a next step, we compared Santos' net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 26%.
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). By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. What is STO worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether STO is currently mispriced by the market.
Is Santos Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
The three-year median payout ratio for Santos is 30%, which is moderately low. The company is retaining the remaining 70%. By the looks of it, the dividend is well covered and Santos is reinvesting its profits efficiently as evidenced by its exceptional growth which we discussed above.
Additionally, Santos has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with 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 32%. Regardless, the future ROE for Santos is predicted to rise to 10% despite there being not much change expected in its payout ratio.
Summary
On the whole, we do feel that Santos has some positive attributes. Despite its low rate of return, the fact that the company reinvests a very high portion of its profits into its business, no doubt contributed to its high earnings growth. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.
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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.
