Do You Know About Rogers Corporation’s (NYSE:ROG) ROCE?
Today we'll look at Rogers Corporation (NYSE:ROG) and reflect on its potential as an investment. Specifically, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), since that will give us an insight into how efficiently the business can generate profits from the capital it requires.
First of all, we'll work out how to calculate ROCE. Second, we'll look at its ROCE compared to similar companies. Finally, we'll look at how its current liabilities affect its ROCE.
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
ROCE measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. In general, businesses with a higher ROCE are usually better quality. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussin has suggested that a high ROCE can indicate that 'one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar'.
So, How Do We Calculate ROCE?
The formula for calculating the return on capital employed is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) Ă· (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
Or for Rogers:
0.11 = US$129m Ă· (US$1.3b - US$113m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.)
Therefore, Rogers has an ROCE of 11%.
View our latest analysis for Rogers
Does Rogers Have A Good ROCE?
When making comparisons between similar businesses, investors may find ROCE useful. We can see Rogers's ROCE is around the 12% average reported by the Electronic industry. Independently of how Rogers compares to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms appears decent, and the company may be worthy of closer investigation.
You can click on the image below to see (in greater detail) how Rogers's past growth compares to other companies.
When considering ROCE, bear in mind that it reflects the past and does not necessarily predict the future. ROCE can be deceptive for cyclical businesses, as returns can look incredible in boom times, and terribly low in downturns. ROCE is only a point-in-time measure. Since the future is so important for investors, you should check out our free report on analyst forecasts for Rogers.
How Rogers's Current Liabilities Impact Its ROCE
Current liabilities include invoices, such as supplier payments, short-term debt, or a tax bill, that need to be paid within 12 months. Due to the way the ROCE equation works, having large bills due in the near term can make it look as though a company has less capital employed, and thus a higher ROCE than usual. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets.
Rogers has total liabilities of US$113m and total assets of US$1.3b. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 8.6% of its total assets. In addition to low current liabilities (making a negligible impact on ROCE), Rogers earns a sound return on capital employed.
Our Take On Rogers's ROCE
If it is able to keep this up, Rogers could be attractive. Rogers looks strong on this analysis, but there are plenty of other companies that could be a good opportunity . Here is a free list of companies growing earnings rapidly.
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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.
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. Thank you for reading.