A Close Look At Wayside Technology Group, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:WSTG) 17% ROCE
Today we are going to look at Wayside Technology Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSTG) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. To be precise, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), as that will inform our view of the quality of the business.
First up, we'll look at what ROCE is and how we calculate it. Second, we'll look at its ROCE compared to similar companies. Then we'll determine how its current liabilities are affecting its ROCE.
What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?
ROCE measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. In general, businesses with a higher ROCE are usually better quality. In brief, it is a useful tool, but it is not without drawbacks. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussin has suggested that a high ROCE can indicate that 'one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar'.
How Do You Calculate Return On Capital Employed?
Analysts use this formula to calculate return on capital employed:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
Or for Wayside Technology Group:
0.17 = US$7.6m ÷ (US$106m - US$60m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.)
Therefore, Wayside Technology Group has an ROCE of 17%.
Check out our latest analysis for Wayside Technology Group
Is Wayside Technology Group's ROCE Good?
When making comparisons between similar businesses, investors may find ROCE useful. In our analysis, Wayside Technology Group's ROCE is meaningfully higher than the 12% average in the Electronic industry. I think that's good to see, since it implies the company is better than other companies at making the most of its capital. Separate from Wayside Technology Group's performance relative to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms looks satisfactory, and it may be worth researching in more depth.
You can see in the image below how Wayside Technology Group's ROCE compares to its industry. Click to see more on past growth.
Remember that this metric is backwards looking - it shows what has happened in the past, and does not accurately predict the future. Companies in cyclical industries can be difficult to understand using ROCE, as returns typically look high during boom times, and low during busts. This is because ROCE only looks at one year, instead of considering returns across a whole cycle. If Wayside Technology Group is cyclical, it could make sense to check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
What Are Current Liabilities, And How Do They Affect Wayside Technology Group's ROCE?
Current liabilities are short term bills and invoices that need to be paid in 12 months or less. Due to the way the ROCE equation works, having large bills due in the near term can make it look as though a company has less capital employed, and thus a higher ROCE than usual. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets.
Wayside Technology Group has total assets of US$106m and current liabilities of US$60m. Therefore its current liabilities are equivalent to approximately 57% of its total assets. This is admittedly a high level of current liabilities, improving ROCE substantially.
Our Take On Wayside Technology Group's ROCE
This ROCE is pretty good, but remember that it would look less impressive with fewer current liabilities. Wayside Technology Group looks strong on this analysis, but there are plenty of other companies that could be a good opportunity . Here is a free list of companies growing earnings rapidly.
If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
