WEG S.A.'s (BVMF:WEGE3) Stock Has Been Sliding But Fundamentals Look Strong: Is The Market Wrong?

WEG (BVMF:WEGE3) has had a rough week with its share price down 3.2%. But if you pay close attention, you might gather that its strong financials could mean that the stock could potentially see an increase in value in the long-term, given how markets usually reward companies with good financial health. In this article, we decided to focus on WEG's ROE.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

See our latest analysis for WEG

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 WEG is:

31% = R$6.3b ÷ R$20b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every R$1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of R$0.31.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

A Side By Side comparison of WEG's Earnings Growth And 31% ROE

First thing first, we like that WEG has an impressive ROE. Additionally, the company's ROE is higher compared to the industry average of 8.7% which is quite remarkable. So, the substantial 26% net income growth seen by WEG over the past five years isn't overly surprising.

As a next step, we compared WEG'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 16%.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is WEG fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is WEG Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

WEG has a significant three-year median payout ratio of 51%, meaning the company only retains 49% of its income. This implies that the company has been able to achieve high earnings growth despite returning most of its profits to shareholders.

Additionally, WEG has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 51% of its profits over the next three years. Accordingly, forecasts suggest that WEG's future ROE will be 32% which is again, similar to the current ROE.

Summary

Overall, we are quite pleased with WEG's performance. In particular, its high ROE is quite noteworthy and also the probable explanation behind its considerable earnings growth. Yet, the company is retaining a small portion of its profits. Which means that the company has been able to grow its earnings in spite of it, so that's not too bad. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page for the company.

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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.