Is Euroseas Ltd.'s (NASDAQ:ESEA) Recent Stock Performance Tethered To Its Strong Fundamentals?
Euroseas (NASDAQ:ESEA) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 13% over the last three months. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Euroseas' 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. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.
See our latest analysis for Euroseas
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 Euroseas is:
43% = US$115m ÷ US$267m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).
The 'return' is the yearly profit. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.43 in profit.
Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?
Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.
Euroseas' Earnings Growth And 43% ROE
Firstly, we acknowledge that Euroseas has a significantly high ROE. Additionally, the company's ROE is higher compared to the industry average of 10.0% which is quite remarkable. So, the substantial 68% net income growth seen by Euroseas over the past five years isn't overly surprising.
We then compared Euroseas' net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 48% in the same 5-year 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). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is Euroseas fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.
Is Euroseas Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Euroseas' ' three-year median payout ratio is on the lower side at 13% implying that it is retaining a higher percentage (87%) of its profits. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business as evidenced by the growth seen by the company.
Moreover, Euroseas is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years.
Summary
Overall, we are quite pleased with Euroseas' 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.
