Yahoo Finance 
Is IDACORP, Inc.'s (NYSE:IDA) Stock On A Downtrend As A Result Of Its Poor Financials?
IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) has had a rough three months with its share price down 5.2%. To decide if this trend could continue, we decided to look at its weak fundamentals as they shape the long-term market trends. In this article, we decided to focus on IDACORP's ROE.
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.
See our latest analysis for IDACORP
How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?
The formula for ROE is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for IDACORP is:
9.6% = US$274m ÷ US$2.9b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).
The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.10 in profit.
What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?
So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. 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.
IDACORP's Earnings Growth And 9.6% ROE
On the face of it, IDACORP's ROE is not much to talk about. However, its ROE is similar to the industry average of 8.3%, so we won't completely dismiss the company. On the other hand, IDACORP reported a fairly low 3.3% net income growth over the past five years. Bear in mind, the company's ROE is not very high . Hence, this does provide some context to low earnings growth seen by the company.
As a next step, we compared IDACORP's net income growth with the industry and were disappointed to see that the company's growth is lower than the industry average growth of 6.8% in the same period.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if IDACORP is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Is IDACORP Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
The high three-year median payout ratio of 58% (that is, the company retains only 42% of its income) over the past three years for IDACORP suggests that the company's earnings growth was lower as a result of paying out a majority of its earnings.
In addition, IDACORP has been paying dividends over a period of at least ten years suggesting that keeping up dividend payments is way more important to the management even if it comes at the cost of business growth. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 61%. Therefore, the company's future ROE is also not expected to change by much with analysts predicting an ROE of 9.3%.
Summary
On the whole, IDACORP's performance is quite a big let-down. As a result of its low ROE and lack of much reinvestment into the business, the company has seen a disappointing earnings growth rate. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings are expected to accelerate. 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.
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.
