Should Weakness in Livingstone Health Holdings Limited's (Catalist:PRH) Stock Be Seen As A Sign That Market Will Correct The Share Price Given Decent Financials?
It is hard to get excited after looking at Livingstone Health Holdings' (Catalist:PRH) recent performance, when its stock has declined 24% over the past three months. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financials over the long term, which in this case look pretty respectable. Specifically, we decided to study Livingstone Health Holdings' 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. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.
See our latest analysis for Livingstone Health Holdings
How To Calculate Return On Equity?
The formula for return on equity is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Livingstone Health Holdings is:
41% = S$2.5m ÷ S$6.2m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).
The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every SGD1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn SGD0.41 in profit.
What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?
Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. 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.
Livingstone Health Holdings' Earnings Growth And 41% ROE
First thing first, we like that Livingstone Health Holdings has an impressive ROE. Additionally, the company's ROE is higher compared to the industry average of 11% which is quite remarkable. For this reason, Livingstone Health Holdings' five year net income decline of 17% raises the question as to why the high ROE didn't translate into earnings growth. Based on this, we feel that there might be other reasons which haven't been discussed so far in this article that could be hampering the company's growth. Such as, the company pays out a huge portion of its earnings as dividends, or is faced with competitive pressures.
However, when we compared Livingstone Health Holdings' growth with the industry we found that while the company's earnings have been shrinking, the industry has seen an earnings growth of 7.0% in the same period. This is quite worrisome.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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 Livingstone Health Holdings''s valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.
Is Livingstone Health Holdings Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Livingstone Health Holdings' low three-year median payout ratio of 17% (or a retention ratio of 83%) over the last three years should mean that the company is retaining most of its earnings to fuel its growth but the company's earnings have actually shrunk. The low payout should mean that the company is retaining most of its earnings and consequently, should see some growth. So there might be other factors at play here which could potentially be hampering growth. For instance, the business has faced some headwinds.
Summary
In total, it does look like Livingstone Health Holdings has some positive aspects to its business. Yet, the low earnings growth is a bit concerning, especially given that the company has a high rate of return and is reinvesting ma huge portion of its profits. By the looks of it, there could be some other factors, not necessarily in control of the business, that's preventing growth. While we won't completely dismiss the company, what we would do, is try to ascertain how risky the business is to make a more informed decision around the company. Our risks dashboard would have the 4 risks we have identified for Livingstone Health Holdings.
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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