Is Weakness In RTX A/S (CPH:RTX) Stock A Sign That The Market Could be Wrong Given Its Strong Financial Prospects?

RTX (CPH:RTX) has had a rough month with its share price down 18%. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. Particularly, we will be paying attention to RTX'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.

View our latest analysis for RTX

How To 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 RTX is:

9.6% = kr.31m ÷ kr.323m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every DKK1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn DKK0.10 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. 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 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.

RTX's Earnings Growth And 9.6% ROE

At first glance, RTX seems to have a decent ROE. And on comparing with the industry, we found that the the average industry ROE is similar at 10%. This certainly adds some context to RTX's moderate 5.9% net income growth seen over the past five years.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that RTX's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 4.4% in the same period, which is great to see.

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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if RTX is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is RTX Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

RTX has a three-year median payout ratio of 30%, which implies that it retains the remaining 70% 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, RTX has been paying dividends over a period of seven years. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders.

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with RTX's performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial 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. 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. To know the 3 risks we have identified for RTX visit our risks dashboard for free.

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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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