Yahoo Finance Stanmore Resources Limited's (ASX:SMR) Stock Has Been Sliding But Fundamentals Look Strong: Is The Market Wrong?
Stanmore Resources (ASX:SMR) has had a rough three months with its share price down 18%. But if you pay close attention, you might gather that its strong financials could mean that the stock could potentially see an increase in value in the long-term, given how markets usually reward companies with good financial health. In this article, we decided to focus on Stanmore Resources' ROE.
Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.
View our latest analysis for Stanmore Resources
How Is ROE Calculated?
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 Stanmore Resources is:
27% = US$472m ÷ US$1.8b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).
The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that for every A$1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated A$0.27 in profit.
Why Is ROE Important For 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 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 Side By Side comparison of Stanmore Resources' Earnings Growth And 27% ROE
Firstly, we acknowledge that Stanmore Resources has a significantly high ROE. Second, a comparison with the average ROE reported by the industry of 10% also doesn't go unnoticed by us. Under the circumstances, Stanmore Resources' considerable five year net income growth of 60% was to be expected.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Stanmore Resources' growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 21% in the same period, which is great to see.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Has the market priced in the future outlook for SMR? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Is Stanmore Resources Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Stanmore Resources' three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 16%, which is quite low. This implies that the company is retaining 84% of its profits. So it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business and this reflects in its earnings growth number.
Besides, Stanmore Resources has been paying dividends over a period of six years. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company is expected to rise to 53% over the next three years. Accordingly, the expected increase in the payout ratio explains the expected decline in the company's ROE to 11%, over the same period.
Conclusion
In total, we are pretty happy with Stanmore Resources' performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. With that said, on studying the latest analyst forecasts, we found that while the company has seen growth in its past earnings, analysts expect its future earnings to shrink. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page 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.
