We Think Denbury (NYSE:DEN) Might Have The DNA Of A Multi-Bagger
If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. With that in mind, the ROCE of Denbury (NYSE:DEN) looks great, so lets see what the trend can tell us.
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Denbury, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.24 = US$378m ÷ (US$2.1b - US$539m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).
So, Denbury has an ROCE of 24%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 16% earned by companies in a similar industry.
Check out our latest analysis for Denbury
In the above chart we have measured Denbury's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
What Can We Tell From Denbury's ROCE Trend?
Denbury has not disappointed in regards to ROCE growth. We found that the returns on capital employed over the last five years have risen by 450%. That's a very favorable trend because this means that the company is earning more per dollar of capital that's being employed. Interestingly, the business may be becoming more efficient because it's applying 61% less capital than it was five years ago. If this trend continues, the business might be getting more efficient but it's shrinking in terms of total assets.
On a side note, we noticed that the improvement in ROCE appears to be partly fueled by an increase in current liabilities. The current liabilities has increased to 25% of total assets, so the business is now more funded by the likes of its suppliers or short-term creditors. Keep an eye out for future increases because when the ratio of current liabilities to total assets gets particularly high, this can introduce some new risks for the business.
In Conclusion...
In the end, Denbury has proven it's capital allocation skills are good with those higher returns from less amount of capital. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 29% return over the last year. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.
Like most companies, Denbury does come with some risks, and we've found 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.
If you'd like to see other companies earning high returns, check out our free list of companies earning high returns with solid balance sheets here.
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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