Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) Shareholders Will Want The ROCE Trajectory To Continue
What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. So when we looked at Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.
Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?
If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Canadian Natural Resources:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.09 = CA$6.2b ÷ (CA$75b - CA$6.5b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).
Thus, Canadian Natural Resources has an ROCE of 9.0%. In absolute terms, that's a low return, but it's much better than the Oil and Gas industry average of 6.5%.
Check out our latest analysis for Canadian Natural Resources
In the above chart we have measured Canadian Natural Resources' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Canadian Natural Resources.
What Can We Tell From Canadian Natural Resources' ROCE Trend?
We're delighted to see that Canadian Natural Resources is reaping rewards from its investments and is now generating some pre-tax profits. Shareholders would no doubt be pleased with this because the business was loss-making five years ago but is is now generating 9.0% on its capital. Not only that, but the company is utilizing 30% more capital than before, but that's to be expected from a company trying to break into profitability. This can tell us that the company has plenty of reinvestment opportunities that are able to generate higher returns.
In Conclusion...
To the delight of most shareholders, Canadian Natural Resources has now broken into profitability. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 52% return over the last five years. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.
If you'd like to know more about Canadian Natural Resources, we've spotted 3 warning signs, and 1 of them is a bit concerning.
While Canadian Natural Resources isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.
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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