Here's Why We Think Orezone Gold (TSE:ORE) Might Deserve Your Attention Today

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. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' Loss making companies can act like a sponge for capital - so investors should be cautious that they're not throwing good money after bad.

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

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Orezone Gold's Earnings Per Share Are Growing

The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so you'd expect share price to follow earnings per share (EPS) outcomes eventually. That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. To the delight of shareholders, Orezone Gold has achieved impressive annual EPS growth of 40%, compound, over the last three years. That sort of growth rarely ever lasts long, but it is well worth paying attention to when it happens.

It's often helpful to take a look at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. Orezone Gold shareholders can take confidence from the fact that EBIT margins are up from 29% to 39%, and revenue is growing. Ticking those two boxes is a good sign of growth, in our book.

In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.

See our latest analysis for Orezone Gold

The trick, as an investor, is to find companies that are going to perform well in the future, not just in the past. While crystal balls don't exist, you can check our visualization of consensus analyst forecasts for Orezone Gold's future EPS 100% free.

Are Orezone Gold Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It's pleasing to see company leaders with putting their money on the line, so to speak, because it increases alignment of incentives between the people running the business, and its true owners. So it is good to see that Orezone Gold insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. As a matter of fact, their holding is valued at US$21m. That's a lot of money, and no small incentive to work hard. Even though that's only about 2.7% of the company, it's enough money to indicate alignment between the leaders of the business and ordinary shareholders.

Does Orezone Gold Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

Orezone Gold's earnings per share growth have been climbing higher at an appreciable rate. That sort of growth is nothing short of eye-catching, and the large investment held by insiders should certainly brighten the view of the company. The hope is, of course, that the strong growth marks a fundamental improvement in the business economics. So at the surface level, Orezone Gold is worth putting on your watchlist; after all, shareholders do well when the market underestimates fast growing companies. We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 2 warning signs for Orezone Gold (1 is significant!) that you need to be mindful of.

While opting for stocks without growing earnings and absent insider buying can yield results, for investors valuing these key metrics, here is a carefully selected list of companies in CA with promising growth potential and insider confidence.

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.