Are Vishay Precision Group, Inc.'s (NYSE:VPG) Fundamentals Good Enough to Warrant Buying Given The Stock's Recent Weakness?
It is hard to get excited after looking at Vishay Precision Group's (NYSE:VPG) recent performance, when its stock has declined 27% over the past three months. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financials over the long term, which in this case look pretty respectable. Specifically, we decided to study Vishay Precision Group's ROE in this article.
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. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.
View our latest analysis for Vishay Precision Group
How To Calculate Return On Equity?
The formula for ROE is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Vishay Precision Group is:
6.5% = US$21m ÷ US$327m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).
The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.06.
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. 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.
A Side By Side comparison of Vishay Precision Group's Earnings Growth And 6.5% ROE
On the face of it, Vishay Precision Group's ROE is not much to talk about. Next, when compared to the average industry ROE of 10%, the company's ROE leaves us feeling even less enthusiastic. However, the moderate 12% net income growth seen by Vishay Precision Group over the past five years is definitely a positive. We reckon that there could be other factors at play here. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.
As a next step, we compared Vishay Precision Group'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 14% in the same period.
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. Has the market priced in the future outlook for VPG? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Is Vishay Precision Group Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Given that Vishay Precision Group doesn't pay any regular dividends to its shareholders, we infer that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits to grow its business.
Summary
In total, it does look like Vishay Precision Group has some positive aspects to its business. With a high rate of reinvestment, albeit at a low ROE, the company has managed to see a considerable growth in its earnings. Having said that, on studying current analyst estimates, we were concerned to see that while the company has grown its earnings in the past, analysts expect its earnings to shrink in the future. 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.