Should You Be Pleased About The CEO Pay At Hurco Companies, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:HURC)
Michael Doar became the CEO of Hurco Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HURC) in 2001. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.
Check out our latest analysis for Hurco Companies
How Does Michael Doar's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
Our data indicates that Hurco Companies, Inc. is worth US$219m, and total annual CEO compensation is US$2.6m. (This number is for the twelve months until October 2018). While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at US$477k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from US$100m to US$400m, and the median CEO total compensation was US$1.2m.
It would therefore appear that Hurco Companies, Inc. pays Michael Doar more than the median CEO remuneration at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this fact alone doesn't mean the remuneration is too high. We can better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance.
You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Hurco Companies has changed over time.
Is Hurco Companies, Inc. Growing?
Hurco Companies, Inc. has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 28% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is down -2.4%.
This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. The lack of revenue growth isn't ideal, but it is the bottom line that counts most in business. We don't have analyst forecasts, but you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
Has Hurco Companies, Inc. Been A Good Investment?
With a total shareholder return of 22% over three years, Hurco Companies, Inc. shareholders would, in general, be reasonably content. But they probably wouldn't be so happy as to think the CEO should be paid more than is normal, for companies around this size.
In Summary...
We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by Hurco Companies, Inc., and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.
However we must not forget that the EPS growth has been very strong over three years. Looking at the same time period, we think that the shareholder returns are respectable. While it may be worth researching further, we don't see a problem with the CEO pay, given the good EPS growth. Shareholders may want to check for free if Hurco Companies insiders are buying or selling shares.
Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
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.
