U.S. markets closed

  • S&P 500

    4,002.87
    +51.30 (+1.30%)
     

  • Dow 30

    32,560.60
    +316.02 (+0.98%)
     

  • Nasdaq

    11,860.11
    +184.57 (+1.58%)
     

  • Russell 2000

    1,777.74
    +32.75 (+1.88%)
     

  • Crude Oil

    69.50
    +0.17 (+0.25%)
     

  • Gold

    1,946.60
    +5.50 (+0.28%)
     

  • Silver

    22.56
    +0.14 (+0.60%)
     

  • EUR/USD

    1.0776
    +0.0050 (+0.46%)
     

  • 10-Yr Bond

    3.6060
    +0.1250 (+3.59%)
     

  • GBP/USD

    1.2224
    -0.0049 (-0.40%)
     

  • USD/JPY

    132.3590
    +1.0640 (+0.81%)
     

  • Bitcoin USD

    28,162.10
    +417.86 (+1.51%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    612.63
    +7.58 (+1.25%)
     

  • FTSE 100

    7,536.22
    +132.37 (+1.79%)
     

  • Nikkei 225

    26,945.67
    -388.12 (-1.42%)
     

Do Its Financials Have Any Role To Play In Driving Covenant Logistics Group, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:CVLG) Stock Up Recently?

Simply Wall St
·4 min read

Covenant Logistics Group's (NASDAQ:CVLG) stock is up by a considerable 7.0% over the past month. As most would know, fundamentals are what usually guide market price movements over the long-term, so we decided to look at the company's key financial indicators today to determine if they have any role to play in the recent price movement. In this article, we decided to focus on Covenant Logistics Group's ROE.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. 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 Covenant Logistics Group

How Is ROE Calculated?

ROE can be calculated by using the formula:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Covenant Logistics Group is:

20% = US$72m ÷ US$359m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.20 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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. 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.

Covenant Logistics Group's Earnings Growth And 20% ROE

At first glance, Covenant Logistics Group seems to have a decent ROE. Further, the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 23%. For this reason, Covenant Logistics Group's five year net income decline of 5.0% raises the question as to why the decent ROE didn't translate into growth. Based on this, we feel that there might be other reasons which haven't been discussed so far in this article that could be hampering the company's growth. Such as, the company pays out a huge portion of its earnings as dividends, or is faced with competitive pressures.

So, as a next step, we compared Covenant Logistics Group's performance against the industry and were disappointed to discover that while the company has been shrinking its earnings, the industry has been growing its earnings at a rate of 6.3% in the same period.

past-earnings-growth
past-earnings-growth

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. 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. Is CVLG fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is Covenant Logistics Group Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Covenant Logistics Group's low three-year median payout ratio of 1.5% (or a retention ratio of 99%) over the last three years should mean that the company is retaining most of its earnings to fuel its growth but the company's earnings have actually shrunk. The low payout should mean that the company is retaining most of its earnings and consequently, should see some growth. So there could be some other explanations in that regard. For example, the company's business may be deteriorating.

Conclusion

On the whole, we do feel that Covenant Logistics Group has some positive attributes. Yet, the low earnings growth is a bit concerning, especially given that the company has a high rate of return and is reinvesting ma huge portion of its profits. By the looks of it, there could be some other factors, not necessarily in control of the business, that's preventing growth. Additionally, the latest industry analyst forecasts show that analysts expect the company's earnings to continue to shrink in the future. 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.

Recommended Stories