Is PotlatchDeltic Corporation's (NASDAQ:PCH) Latest Stock Performance A Reflection Of Its Financial Health?
PotlatchDeltic (NASDAQ:PCH) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 5.8% over the last month. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. Specifically, we decided to study PotlatchDeltic's ROE in this article.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.
Check out our latest analysis for PotlatchDeltic
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 PotlatchDeltic is:
31% = US$500m ÷ US$1.6b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).
The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.31 in profit.
What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?
We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. 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 PotlatchDeltic's Earnings Growth And 31% ROE
To begin with, PotlatchDeltic has a pretty high ROE which is interesting. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 5.6% the company's ROE is quite impressive. As a result, PotlatchDeltic's exceptional 43% net income growth seen over the past five years, doesn't come as a surprise.
As a next step, we compared PotlatchDeltic's net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 8.9%.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if PotlatchDeltic is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Is PotlatchDeltic Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
PotlatchDeltic has a very high three-year median payout ratio of 57%. This means that it has only 43% of its income left to reinvest into its business. However, it's not unusual to see a REIT with such a high payout ratio mainly due to statutory requirements. Despite this, the company's earnings have grown significantly as we saw above.
Besides, PotlatchDeltic has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 59% of its profits over the next three years.
Summary
In total, we are pretty happy with PotlatchDeltic's performance. In particular, its high ROE is quite noteworthy and also the probable explanation behind its considerable earnings growth. Yet, the company is retaining a small portion of its profits. Which means that the company has been able to grow its earnings in spite of it, so that's not too bad. With that said, on studying the latest analyst forecasts, we found that while the company has seen growth in its past earnings, analysts expect its future earnings to shrink. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.
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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