With EPS Growth And More, Shaw Communications (TSE:SJR.B) Is Interesting

For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it completely lacks a track record of revenue and profit. But as Warren Buffett has mused, 'If you've been playing poker for half an hour and you still don't know who the patsy is, you're the patsy.' When they buy such story stocks, investors are all too often the patsy.

If, on the other hand, you like companies that have revenue, and even earn profits, then you may well be interested in Shaw Communications (TSE:SJR.B). Now, I'm not saying that the stock is necessarily undervalued today; but I can't shake an appreciation for the profitability of the business itself. Conversely, a loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the sweet milk of external capital may run sour.

View our latest analysis for Shaw Communications

Shaw Communications'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 share price follows earnings per share (EPS) eventually. Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. Shaw Communications managed to grow EPS by 13% per year, over three years. That's a good rate of growth, if it can be sustained.

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. Shaw Communications maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 2.1% to CA$5.3b. That's a real positive.

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. You can view the exact numbers in our full report.

Fortunately, we've got access to analyst forecasts of Shaw Communications's future profits. You can do your own forecasts without looking, or you can take a peek at what the professionals are predicting.

Are Shaw Communications Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

We would not expect to see insiders owning a large percentage of a CA$14b company like Shaw Communications. But we are reassured by the fact they have invested in the company. Indeed, they have a glittering mountain of wealth invested in it, currently valued at CA$1.1b. This suggests to me that leadership will be very mindful of shareholders' interests when making decisions!

It means a lot to see insiders invested in the business, but I find myself wondering if remuneration policies are shareholder friendly. Well, based on the CEO pay, I'd say they are indeed. For companies with market capitalizations over CA$11b, like Shaw Communications, the median CEO pay is around CA$9.1m.

The Shaw Communications CEO received CA$7.6m in compensation for the year ending August 2018. That seems pretty reasonable, especially given its below the median for similar sized companies. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally.

Is Shaw Communications Worth Keeping An Eye On?

One important encouraging feature of Shaw Communications is that it is growing profits. The fact that EPS is growing is a genuine positive for Shaw Communications, but the pretty 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. While we've looked at the quality of the earnings, we haven't yet done any work to value the stock. So if you like to buy cheap, you may want to check if Shaw Communications is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Of course, you can do well (sometimes) buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But as a growth investor I always like to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a free list of them here.

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

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