Is Weakness In Andon Health Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002432) Stock A Sign That The Market Could be Wrong Given Its Strong Financial Prospects?

With its stock down 13% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard Andon Health (SZSE:002432). But if you pay close attention, you might gather that its strong financials could mean that the stock could potentially see an increase in value in the long-term, given how markets usually reward companies with good financial health. Specifically, we decided to study Andon Health's ROE in this article.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

See our latest analysis for Andon Health

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Andon Health is:

9.5% = CN¥1.9b ÷ CN¥20b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each CN¥1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made CN¥0.09 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don’t share these attributes.

Andon Health's Earnings Growth And 9.5% ROE

At first glance, Andon Health's ROE doesn't look very promising. Although a closer study shows that the company's ROE is higher than the industry average of 7.1% which we definitely can't overlook. Especially when you consider Andon Health's exceptional 22% 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. So, there might well be other reasons for the earnings to grow. E.g the company has a low payout ratio or could belong to a high growth industry.

As a next step, we compared Andon Health'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 6.1%.

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. Is Andon Health fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Andon Health Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Andon Health's ' three-year median payout ratio is on the lower side at 11% implying that it is retaining a higher percentage (89%) of its profits. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business as evidenced by the growth seen by the company.

Moreover, Andon Health is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years.

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with Andon Health'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. If the company continues to grow its earnings the way it has, that could have a positive impact on its share price given how earnings per share influence long-term share prices. Remember, the price of a stock is also dependent on the perceived risk. Therefore investors must keep themselves informed about the risks involved before investing in any company. Our risks dashboard would have the 2 risks we have identified for Andon Health.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.