Midwich Group Plc's (LON:MIDW) Stock Is Going Strong: Have Financials A Role To Play?
Most readers would already be aware that Midwich Group's (LON:MIDW) stock increased significantly by 25% over the past 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 Midwich Group'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 short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.
See our latest analysis for Midwich Group
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 Midwich Group is:
6.0% = UK£6.4m ÷ UK£106m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).
The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every £1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of £0.06.
Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?
We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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.
Midwich Group's Earnings Growth And 6.0% ROE
At first glance, Midwich Group's ROE doesn't look very promising. Next, when compared to the average industry ROE of 8.6%, the company's ROE leaves us feeling even less enthusiastic. Although, we can see that Midwich Group saw a modest net income growth of 17% over the past five years. So, the growth in the company's earnings could probably have been caused by other variables. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.
We then performed a comparison between Midwich Group's net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 18% in the same period.
Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. If you're wondering about Midwich Group's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.
Is Midwich Group Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
While the company did pay out a portion of its dividend in the past, it currently doesn't pay a dividend. We infer that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits to grow its business.
Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 51% over the next three years. As a result, the expected drop in Midwich Group's payout ratio explains the anticipated rise in the company's future ROE to 21%, over the same period.
Conclusion
On the whole, we do feel that Midwich Group has some positive attributes. That is, quite an impressive growth in earnings. However, the low profit retention means that the company's earnings growth could have been higher, had it been reinvesting a higher portion of its profits. 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.
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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
