Stock Analysis

Does Premium Brands Holdings (TSE:PBH) Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

TSX:PBH
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Investors are often guided by the idea of discovering 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without any revenue, let alone profit. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.

So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Premium Brands Holdings (TSE:PBH). While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.

Check out our latest analysis for Premium Brands Holdings

How Fast Is Premium Brands Holdings Growing?

Generally, companies experiencing growth in earnings per share (EPS) should see similar trends in share price. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. Premium Brands Holdings managed to grow EPS by 15% per year, over three years. That's a pretty good rate, if the company can sustain it.

Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. Premium Brands Holdings maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 24% to CA$5.7b. That's a real positive.

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. For finer detail, click on the image.

earnings-and-revenue-history
TSX:PBH Earnings and Revenue History March 8th 2023

Of course the knack is to find stocks that have their best days in the future, not in the past. You could base your opinion on past performance, of course, but you may also want to check this interactive graph of professional analyst EPS forecasts for Premium Brands Holdings.

Are Premium Brands Holdings Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It's a necessity that company leaders act in the best interest of shareholders and so insider investment always comes as a reassurance to the market. Shareholders will be pleased by the fact that insiders own Premium Brands Holdings shares worth a considerable sum. With a whopping CA$102m worth of shares as a group, insiders have plenty riding on the company's success. This would indicate that the goals of shareholders and management are one and the same.

While it's always good to see some strong conviction in the company from insiders through heavy investment, it's also important for shareholders to ask if management compensation policies are reasonable. Well, based on the CEO pay, you'd argue that they are indeed. The median total compensation for CEOs of companies similar in size to Premium Brands Holdings, with market caps between CA$2.8b and CA$8.8b, is around CA$4.6m.

The Premium Brands Holdings CEO received CA$2.6m in compensation for the year ending December 2021. That comes in below the average for similar sized companies and seems pretty reasonable. While the level of CEO compensation shouldn't be the biggest factor in how the company is viewed, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. Generally, arguments can be made that reasonable pay levels attest to good decision-making.

Is Premium Brands Holdings Worth Keeping An Eye On?

As previously touched on, Premium Brands Holdings is a growing business, which is encouraging. The fact that EPS is growing is a genuine positive for Premium Brands Holdings, but the pleasant picture gets better than that. With a meaningful level of insider ownership, and reasonable CEO pay, a reasonable mind might conclude that this is one stock worth watching. You still need to take note of risks, for example - Premium Brands Holdings has 2 warning signs (and 1 which can't be ignored) we think you should know about.

Although Premium Brands Holdings certainly looks good, it may appeal to more investors if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see insider buying, then this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying, could be exactly what you're looking for.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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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.