The Return Trends At Dubai Investments PJSC (DFM:DIC) Look Promising

What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Dubai Investments PJSC (DFM:DIC) so let's look a bit deeper.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Dubai Investments PJSC:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.039 = د.إ664m ÷ (د.إ22b - د.إ5.0b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).

Thus, Dubai Investments PJSC has an ROCE of 3.9%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Industrials industry average of 6.1%.

See our latest analysis for Dubai Investments PJSC

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Dubai Investments PJSC compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Dubai Investments PJSC here for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Dubai Investments PJSC Tell Us?

Even though ROCE is still low in absolute terms, it's good to see it's heading in the right direction. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 3.9%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 20%. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at Dubai Investments PJSC thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.

What We Can Learn From Dubai Investments PJSC's ROCE

A company that is growing its returns on capital and can consistently reinvest in itself is a highly sought after trait, and that's what Dubai Investments PJSC has. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 46% return over the last five years. 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.

Before jumping to any conclusions though, we need to know what value we're getting for the current share price. That's where you can check out our FREE intrinsic value estimation that compares the share price and estimated value.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

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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.