Is Vossloh AG's (ETR:VOS) Stock's Recent Performance A Reflection Of Its Financial Health?
Vossloh's (ETR:VOS) stock up by 4.7% over the past week. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. Specifically, we decided to study Vossloh's ROE in this article.
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 Vossloh
How Is ROE Calculated?
Return on equity 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 Vossloh is:
9.4% = €60m ÷ €636m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).
The 'return' is the yearly profit. Another way to think of that is that for every €1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn €0.09 in profit.
Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?
Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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 everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.
Vossloh's Earnings Growth And 9.4% ROE
To start with, Vossloh's ROE looks acceptable. Yet, the fact that the company's ROE is lower than the industry average of 14% does temper our expectations. Still, we can see that Vossloh has seen a remarkable net income growth of 37% over the past five years. We believe that there might be other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place. Bear in mind, the company does have a respectable ROE. It is just that the industry ROE is higher. So this also does lend some color to the high earnings growth seen by the company.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Vossloh's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 11% in the same period, which is great to see.
Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. What is VOS worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether VOS is currently mispriced by the market.
Is Vossloh Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
Vossloh's three-year median payout ratio is a pretty moderate 50%, meaning the company retains 50% of its income. By the looks of it, the dividend is well covered and Vossloh is reinvesting its profits efficiently as evidenced by its exceptional growth which we discussed above.
Besides, Vossloh has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company is expected to drop to 34% over the next three years. Despite the lower expected payout ratio, the company's ROE is not expected to change by much.
Conclusion
On the whole, we feel that Vossloh's performance has been quite good. Specifically, we like that it has been reinvesting a high portion of its profits at a moderate rate of return, resulting in earnings expansion. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. 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.
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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.
