Stock Analysis

We Like WEG's (BVMF:WEGE3) Returns And Here's How They're Trending

BOVESPA:WEGE3
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If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. And in light of that, the trends we're seeing at WEG's (BVMF:WEGE3) look very promising so lets take a look.

What Is 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 WEG:

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

0.31 = R$5.5b ÷ (R$29b - R$11b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2023).

Thus, WEG has an ROCE of 31%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Electrical industry average of 12%.

See our latest analysis for WEG

roce
BOVESPA:WEGE3 Return on Capital Employed May 21st 2023

Above you can see how the current ROCE for WEG compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

SWOT Analysis for WEG

Strength
  • Debt is not viewed as a risk.
  • Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.
Weakness
  • Earnings growth over the past year underperformed the Electrical industry.
  • Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Electrical market.
  • Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.
Opportunity
  • Annual revenue is forecast to grow faster than the Brazilian market.
Threat
  • Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the Brazilian market.

How Are Returns Trending?

Investors would be pleased with what's happening at WEG. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 31%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 72%. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at WEG thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.

The Bottom Line

In summary, it's great to see that WEG can compound returns by consistently reinvesting capital at increasing rates of return, because these are some of the key ingredients of those highly sought after multi-baggers. Since the stock has returned a staggering 360% to shareholders over the last five years, it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

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.

If you want to search for more stocks that have been earning high returns, check out this free list of stocks with solid balance sheets that are also earning high returns on equity.

Valuation is complex, but we're helping make it simple.

Find out whether WEG is potentially over or undervalued by checking out our comprehensive analysis, which includes fair value estimates, risks and warnings, dividends, insider transactions and financial health.

View the Free Analysis

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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.