Quarterhill Inc.'s (TSE:QTRH) Stock's On An Uptrend: Are Strong Financials Guiding The Market?
Quarterhill (TSE:QTRH) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 17% over the last month. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. In this article, we decided to focus on Quarterhill'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.
View our latest analysis for Quarterhill
How Is ROE Calculated?
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 Quarterhill is:
13% = CA$39m ÷ CA$294m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).
The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each CA$1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made CA$0.13 in profit.
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. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. 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 Quarterhill's Earnings Growth And 13% ROE
To begin with, Quarterhill seems to have a respectable ROE. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 8.8% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. This certainly adds some context to Quarterhill's decent 7.7% net income growth seen over the past five years.
Given that the industry shrunk its earnings at a rate of 2.6% in the same period, the net income growth of the company is quite impressive.
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). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. If you're wondering about Quarterhill's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.
Is Quarterhill Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Quarterhill has a three-year median payout ratio of 44%, which implies that it retains the remaining 56% of its profits. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the decent growth seen by the company, it looks like management is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.
Additionally, Quarterhill has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders.
Summary
On the whole, we feel that Quarterhill's performance has been quite good. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. That being so, according to the latest industry analyst forecasts, the company's earnings are expected to shrink in the future. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.
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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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