Secure Energy Services Inc.'s (TSE:SES) Stock Is Going Strong: Is the Market Following Fundamentals?

Secure Energy Services (TSE:SES) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 31% over the last three months. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Secure Energy Services' ROE today.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

Check out our latest analysis for Secure Energy Services

How Is ROE Calculated?

ROE can be calculated by using the formula:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Secure Energy Services is:

58% = CA$607m ÷ CA$1.1b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every CA$1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn CA$0.58 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For 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 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.

Secure Energy Services' Earnings Growth And 58% ROE

First thing first, we like that Secure Energy Services has an impressive ROE. Additionally, the company's ROE is higher compared to the industry average of 11% which is quite remarkable. Under the circumstances, Secure Energy Services' considerable five year net income growth of 68% was to be expected.

As a next step, we compared Secure Energy Services' 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 38%.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. What is SES worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether SES is currently mispriced by the market.

Is Secure Energy Services Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Secure Energy Services' ' three-year median payout ratio is on the lower side at 20% implying that it is retaining a higher percentage (80%) of its profits. So it looks like Secure Energy Services is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business, which shows in its earnings growth.

Besides, Secure Energy Services has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company's future payout ratio is expected to rise to 44% over the next three years.

Conclusion

In total, we are pretty happy with Secure Energy Services' performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. That being so, according to the latest industry analyst forecasts, the company's earnings are expected to shrink in the future. 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.