Is Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare Co., Ltd.'s (SHSE:688271) Recent Stock Performance Influenced By Its Fundamentals In Any Way?

Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare's (SHSE:688271) stock is up by a considerable 28% over the past three months. Given that stock prices are usually aligned with a company's financial performance in the long-term, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely to see if they had a hand to play in the recent price move. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare's ROE today.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

Check out our latest analysis for Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare

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 Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare is:

8.2% = CN¥1.6b ÷ CN¥19b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every CN¥1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of CN¥0.08.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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.

Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare's Earnings Growth And 8.2% ROE

When you first look at it, Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare's ROE doesn't look that attractive. Yet, a closer study shows that the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 7.1%. Looking at Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare's exceptional 23% five-year net income growth in particular, we are definitely impressed. Taking into consideration that the ROE is not particularly high, we reckon that there could also be other factors at play which could be influencing the company's growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

We then compared Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare's net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 6.1% in the same 5-year period.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. If you're wondering about Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare has a really low three-year median payout ratio of 9.8%, meaning that it has the remaining 90% left over to reinvest into its business. So it looks like Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business, which shows in its earnings growth.

While Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare has been growing its earnings, it only recently started to pay dividends which likely means that the company decided to impress new and existing shareholders with a dividend. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 11% of its profits over the next three years. Still, forecasts suggest that Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare's future ROE will rise to 12% even though the the company's payout ratio is not expected to change by much.

Summary

Overall, we feel that Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare certainly does have some positive factors to consider. Despite its low rate of return, the fact that the company reinvests a very high portion of its profits into its business, no doubt contributed to its high earnings growth. That being so, the latest analyst forecasts show that the company will continue to see an expansion in its earnings. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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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.