Advertisement
U.S. markets open in 1 hour 14 minutes

  • S&P Futures

    4,550.75
    -10.25 (-0.22%)
     

  • Dow Futures

    35,340.00
    -33.00 (-0.09%)
     

  • Nasdaq Futures

    15,964.50
    -44.25 (-0.28%)
     

  • Russell 2000 Futures

    1,799.20
    -5.00 (-0.28%)
     

  • Crude Oil

    75.60
    +0.74 (+0.99%)
     

  • Gold

    2,014.40
    +2.00 (+0.10%)
     

  • Silver

    24.67
    -0.01 (-0.04%)
     

  • EUR/USD

    1.0952
    -0.0007 (-0.07%)
     

  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.3890
    0.0000 (0.00%)
     

  • Vix

    12.87
    +0.18 (+1.42%)
     

  • GBP/USD

    1.2611
    -0.0020 (-0.16%)
     

  • USD/JPY

    148.6340
    +0.0010 (+0.00%)
     

  • Bitcoin USD

    37,169.45
    +162.67 (+0.44%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    769.51
    -6.84 (-0.88%)
     

  • FTSE 100

    7,431.82
    -28.88 (-0.39%)
     

  • Nikkei 225

    33,408.39
    -39.28 (-0.12%)
     

Is Comfort Systems USA, Inc.'s (NYSE:FIX) Stock's Recent Performance Being Led By Its Attractive Financial Prospects?

Simply Wall St
·4 min read

Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 21% over the last three months. Since the market usually pay for a company’s long-term fundamentals, we decided to study the company’s key performance indicators to see if they could be influencing the market. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Comfort Systems USA's ROE today.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. 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 Comfort Systems USA

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 Comfort Systems USA is:

22% = US$244m ÷ US$1.1b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.22 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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.

Comfort Systems USA's Earnings Growth And 22% ROE

To begin with, Comfort Systems USA seems to have a respectable ROE. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 12% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. This probably laid the ground for Comfort Systems USA's significant 20% net income growth seen over the past five years. However, there could also be other causes behind this growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

Next, on comparing Comfort Systems USA's net income growth with the industry, we found that the company's reported growth is similar to the industry average growth rate of 18% over the last few years.

past-earnings-growth
past-earnings-growth

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. If you're wondering about Comfort Systems USA's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Comfort Systems USA Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Comfort Systems USA's ' three-year median payout ratio is on the lower side at 10% implying that it is retaining a higher percentage (90%) of its profits. So it looks like Comfort Systems USA is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business, which shows in its earnings growth.

Besides, Comfort Systems USA has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. 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 over the next three years is expected to be approximately 11%. Therefore, the company's future ROE is also not expected to change by much with analysts predicting an ROE of 21%.

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with Comfort Systems USA's performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

Advertisement