Do Fundamentals Have Any Role To Play In Driving Pembina Pipeline Corporation's (TSE:PPL) Stock Up Recently?

Most readers would already know that Pembina Pipeline's (TSE:PPL) stock increased by 9.2% over the past three months. As most would know, long-term fundamentals have a strong correlation with market price movements, so we decided to look at the company's key financial indicators today to determine if they have any role to play in the recent price movement. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Pembina Pipeline's ROE today.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

View our latest analysis for Pembina Pipeline

How Is ROE Calculated?

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 Pembina Pipeline is:

11% = CA$2.0b ÷ CA$17b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each CA$1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made CA$0.11 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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 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.

Pembina Pipeline's Earnings Growth And 11% ROE

To start with, Pembina Pipeline's ROE looks acceptable. Further, the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 9.7%. This certainly adds some context to Pembina Pipeline's moderate 19% net income growth seen over the past five years.

We then compared Pembina Pipeline's net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 38% in the same 5-year period, which is a bit concerning.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. 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 PPL fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is Pembina Pipeline Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Pembina Pipeline has a significant three-year median payout ratio of 82%, meaning that it is left with only 18% to reinvest into its business. This implies that the company has been able to achieve decent earnings growth despite returning most of its profits to shareholders.

Besides, Pembina Pipeline has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 83%. Accordingly, forecasts suggest that Pembina Pipeline's future ROE will be 12% which is again, similar to the current ROE.

Summary

Overall, we feel that Pembina Pipeline certainly does have some positive factors to consider. The company has grown its earnings moderately as previously discussed. Still, the high ROE could have been even more beneficial to investors had the company been reinvesting more of its profits. As highlighted earlier, the current reinvestment rate appears to be quite low. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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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.