Zhejiang Wanma Co., Ltd.'s (SZSE:002276) Stock Is Going Strong: Is the Market Following Fundamentals?

Zhejiang Wanma (SZSE:002276) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 15% over the last month. Since the market usually pay for a company’s long-term fundamentals, we decided to study the company’s key performance indicators to see if they could be influencing the market. Specifically, we decided to study Zhejiang Wanma's ROE in this article.

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 Zhejiang Wanma

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Zhejiang Wanma is:

8.7% = CN¥483m ÷ CN¥5.6b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. Another way to think of that is that for every CN¥1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn CN¥0.09 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. 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.

A Side By Side comparison of Zhejiang Wanma's Earnings Growth And 8.7% ROE

When you first look at it, Zhejiang Wanma's ROE doesn't look that attractive. However, the fact that the company's ROE is higher than the average industry ROE of 6.9%, is definitely interesting. Even more so after seeing Zhejiang Wanma's exceptional 25% net income growth over the past five years. That being said, the company does have a slightly low ROE to begin with, just that it is higher than the industry average. Therefore, the growth in earnings could also be the result of other factors. Such as- high earnings retention or the company belonging to a high growth industry.

As a next step, we compared Zhejiang Wanma's 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 12%.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is Zhejiang Wanma fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Zhejiang Wanma Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Zhejiang Wanma's three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 10%, which is quite low. This implies that the company is retaining 90% of its profits. So it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business and this reflects in its earnings growth number.

Besides, Zhejiang Wanma has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders.

Conclusion

In total, we are pretty happy with Zhejiang Wanma's performance. In particular, it's great to see that the company has seen significant growth in its earnings backed by a respectable ROE and a high reinvestment rate. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings are expected to accelerate. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts 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.