Should You Worry About Daktronics, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:DAKT) CEO Pay Cheque?
Reece Kurtenbach has been the CEO of Daktronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAKT) since 2013. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Then we’ll look at a snap shot of the business growth. Third, we’ll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.
See our latest analysis for Daktronics
How Does Reece Kurtenbach’s Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
Our data indicates that Daktronics, Inc. is worth US$342m, and total annual CEO compensation is US$527k. (This is based on the year to 2018). While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it’s worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$428k. When we examined a selection of companies with market caps ranging from US$200m to US$800m, we found the median CEO compensation was US$1.6m.
A first glance this seems like a real positive for shareholders, since Reece Kurtenbach is paid less than the average compensation paid by similar sized companies. However, before we heap on the praise, we should delve deeper to understand business performance.
You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Daktronics has changed over time.
Is Daktronics, Inc. Growing?
Daktronics, Inc. has reduced its earnings per share by an average of 13% a year, over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is down -1.0%.
Unfortunately, earnings per share have trended lower over the last three years. And the impression is worse when you consider revenue is down year-on-year. It’s hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration.
Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts. .
Has Daktronics, Inc. Been A Good Investment?
Daktronics, Inc. has served shareholders reasonably well, with a total return of 13% over three years. But they would probably prefer not to see CEO compensation far in excess of the median.
In Summary…
Daktronics, Inc. is currently paying its CEO below what is normal for companies of its size.
The compensation paid to Reece Kurtenbach is lower than is usual at similar sized companies. But the business isn’t growing earnings per share, and the returns to shareholders haven’t been wonderful. We would like to see EPS growth from the business, although we wouldn’t say the CEO pay is high. So you may want to check if insiders are buying Daktronics shares with their own money (free access).
Or you might rather take a peek at this analytical visualization of historic cash flow, earnings and revenue.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
