Wilhelmina International, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHLM) Stock Has Shown Weakness Lately But Financials Look Strong: Should Prospective Shareholders Make The Leap?
With its stock down 11% over the past month, it is easy to disregard Wilhelmina International (NASDAQ:WHLM). However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Wilhelmina International's ROE today.
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 Wilhelmina International
How To Calculate Return On Equity?
The formula for ROE is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Wilhelmina International is:
13% = US$2.8m ÷ US$22m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).
The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.13 in profit.
What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?
So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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.
Wilhelmina International's Earnings Growth And 13% ROE
At first glance, Wilhelmina International seems to have a decent ROE. And on comparing with the industry, we found that the the average industry ROE is similar at 13%. This probably goes some way in explaining Wilhelmina International's moderate 10% growth over the past five years amongst other factors.
As a next step, we compared Wilhelmina International'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 4.0%.
Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. If you're wondering about Wilhelmina International's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.
Is Wilhelmina International Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
Wilhelmina International doesn't pay any dividend, meaning that all of its profits are being reinvested in the business, which explains the fair bit of earnings growth the company has seen.
Summary
On the whole, we feel that Wilhelmina International's performance has been quite good. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a sizeable growth in its earnings. If the company continues to grow its earnings the way it has, that could have a positive impact on its share price given how earnings per share influence long-term share prices. Let's not forget, business risk is also one of the factors that affects the price of the stock. So this is also an important area that investors need to pay attention to before making a decision on any business. Our risks dashboard would have the 2 risks we have identified for Wilhelmina International.
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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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