Lycopodium Limited's (ASX:LYL) Stock Is Going Strong: Have Financials A Role To Play?
Lycopodium (ASX:LYL) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 48% over the last three months. 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 Lycopodium'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 simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.
View our latest analysis for Lycopodium
How To Calculate Return On Equity?
Return on equity 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 Lycopodium is:
31% = AU$32m ÷ AU$103m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).
The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that for every A$1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated A$0.31 in profit.
Why Is ROE Important For 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.
Lycopodium's Earnings Growth And 31% ROE
First thing first, we like that Lycopodium has an impressive ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 13% the company's ROE is quite impressive. This probably laid the groundwork for Lycopodium's moderate 12% net income growth seen over the past five years.
As a next step, we compared Lycopodium'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 21% in the same period.
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. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is Lycopodium fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.
Is Lycopodium Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Lycopodium has a significant three-year median payout ratio of 69%, meaning that it is left with only 31% to reinvest into its business. This implies that the company has been able to achieve decent earnings growth despite returning most of its profits to shareholders.
Moreover, Lycopodium is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years.
Summary
Overall, we feel that Lycopodium certainly does have some positive factors to consider. Its earnings growth is decent, and the high ROE does contribute to that growth. However, investors could have benefitted even more from the high ROE, had the company been reinvesting more of its earnings. Up till now, we've only made a short study of the company's growth data. So it may be worth checking this free detailed graph of Lycopodium's past earnings, as well as revenue and cash flows to get a deeper insight into the company's performance.
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.
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