Infas Holding AG's (FRA:IFS) Stock Been Rising: Are Strong Financials Guiding The Market?

Most readers would already know that Infas Holding's (FRA:IFS) stock increased by 4.0% over the past three months. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. In this article, we decided to focus on Infas Holding's ROE.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

Check out our latest analysis for Infas Holding

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for return on equity is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Infas Holding is:

20% = €1.7m ÷ €8.3m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. Another way to think of that is that for every €1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn €0.20 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With 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 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.

A Side By Side comparison of Infas Holding's Earnings Growth And 20% ROE

Firstly, we acknowledge that Infas Holding has a significantly high ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 13% the company's ROE is quite impressive. Probably as a result of this, Infas Holding was able to see a decent net income growth of 13% over the last five years.

As a next step, we compared Infas Holding's net income growth with the industry and found that the company has a similar growth figure when compared with the industry average growth rate of 11% in the same period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Has the market priced in the future outlook for IFS? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report

Is Infas Holding Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Infas Holding has a three-year median payout ratio of 29%, which implies that it retains the remaining 71% of its profits. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the decent growth seen by the company, it looks like management is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.

Besides, Infas Holding has been paying dividends over a period of eight years. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders.

Conclusion

In total, we are pretty happy with Infas Holding's performance. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a sizeable growth in its earnings. 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. Let's not forget, business risk is also one of the factors that affects the price of the stock. So this is also an important area that investors need to pay attention to before making a decision on any business. You can see the 2 risks we have identified for Infas Holding by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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