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Here's What We Think About Knoll, Inc.'s (NYSE:KNL) CEO Pay

In 2001 Andrew Cogan was appointed CEO of Knoll, Inc. (NYSE:KNL). First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

See our latest analysis for Knoll

How Does Andrew Cogan's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing, our data says that Knoll, Inc. has a market cap of US$1.3b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$4.5m for the year to December 2018. We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at US$1.0m. We note that more than half of the total compensation is not the salary; and performance requirements may apply to this non-salary portion. We examined companies with market caps from US$1.0b to US$3.2b, and discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$3.9m.

That means Andrew Cogan receives fairly typical remuneration for the CEO of a company that size. This doesn't tell us a whole lot on its own, but looking at the performance of the actual business will give us useful context.

You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Knoll has changed over time.

NYSE:KNL CEO Compensation, December 9th 2019
NYSE:KNL CEO Compensation, December 9th 2019

Is Knoll, Inc. Growing?

Over the last three years Knoll, Inc. has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 1.5% per year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 12% over the last year.

I would argue that the modest growth in revenue is a notable positive. And the modest growth in earnings per share isn't bad, either. Although we'll stop short of calling the stock a top performer, we think the company has potential. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Knoll, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Knoll, Inc. has served shareholders reasonably well, with a total return of 11% over three years. But they probably wouldn't be so happy as to think the CEO should be paid more than is normal, for companies around this size.

In Summary...

Andrew Cogan is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies.

The company isn't showing particularly great growth, and shareholder turns haven't been particularly inspiring in the last few years. While the CEO may not be underpaid, we don't think the pay is too generous either. Whatever your view on compensation, you might want to check if insiders are buying or selling Knoll shares (free trial).

Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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.

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. Thank you for reading.

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