John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBSS) Stock Has Shown Weakness Lately But Financials Look Strong: Should Prospective Shareholders Make The Leap?

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With its stock down 5.9% over the past month, it is easy to disregard John B. Sanfilippo & Son (NASDAQ:JBSS). However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. Specifically, we decided to study John B. Sanfilippo & Son's ROE in this article.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

Check out our latest analysis for John B. Sanfilippo & Son

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

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 John B. Sanfilippo & Son is:

25% = US$58m ÷ US$231m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2021).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.25 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. 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 all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

A Side By Side comparison of John B. Sanfilippo & Son's Earnings Growth And 25% ROE

First thing first, we like that John B. Sanfilippo & Son has an impressive ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 11% the company's ROE is quite impressive. This probably laid the groundwork for John B. Sanfilippo & Son's moderate 14% net income growth seen over the past five years.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that John B. Sanfilippo & Son's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 0.5% in the same period, which is great to see.

past-earnings-growth
past-earnings-growth

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is JBSS fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is John B. Sanfilippo & Son Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

In John B. Sanfilippo & Son's case, its respectable earnings growth can probably be explained by its low three-year median payout ratio of 15% (or a retention ratio of 85%), which suggests that the company is investing most of its profits to grow its business.

Besides, John B. Sanfilippo & Son has been paying dividends over a period of eight years. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. 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 13%. However, John B. Sanfilippo & Son's future ROE is expected to decline to 17% despite there being not much change anticipated in the company's payout ratio.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that John B. Sanfilippo & Son's performance has been quite good. 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. If the company continues to grow its earnings the way it has, that could have a positive impact on its share price given how earnings per share influence long-term share prices. Remember, the price of a stock is also dependent on the perceived risk. Therefore investors must keep themselves informed about the risks involved before investing in any company. Our risks dashboard will have the 1 risk we have identified for John B. Sanfilippo & Son.

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. 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.

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