Sanoma Oyj's (HEL:SAA1V) Stock Has Seen Strong Momentum: Does That Call For Deeper Study Of Its Financial Prospects?

Sanoma Oyj's (HEL:SAA1V) stock is up by a considerable 18% 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 Sanoma Oyj'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. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

View our latest analysis for Sanoma Oyj

How Is ROE Calculated?

Return on equity 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 Sanoma Oyj is:

34% = €250m ÷ €736m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every €1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn €0.34 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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 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 Sanoma Oyj's Earnings Growth And 34% ROE

Firstly, we acknowledge that Sanoma Oyj has a significantly high ROE. Additionally, the company's ROE is higher compared to the industry average of 7.9% which is quite remarkable. As a result, Sanoma Oyj's exceptional 48% net income growth seen over the past five years, doesn't come as a surprise.

As a next step, we compared Sanoma Oyj'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 11%.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. 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. Is SAA1V fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is Sanoma Oyj Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

The really high three-year median payout ratio of 103% for Sanoma Oyj suggests that the company is paying its shareholders more than what it is earning. In spite of this, the company was able to grow its earnings significantly, as we saw above. Although, it could be worth keeping an eye on the high payout ratio as that's a huge risk. You can see the 2 risks we have identified for Sanoma Oyj by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.

Additionally, Sanoma Oyj has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Existing analyst estimates suggest that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 79% over the next three years. However, Sanoma Oyj's future ROE is expected to decline to 16% despite the expected decline in its payout ratio. We infer that there could be other factors that could be steering the foreseen decline in the company's ROE.

Summary

Overall, we feel that Sanoma Oyj certainly does have some positive factors to consider. Specifically, its high ROE which likely led to the growth in earnings. Bear in mind, the company reinvests little to none of its profits, which means that investors aren't necessarily reaping the full benefits of the high rate of return. With that said, on studying the latest analyst forecasts, we found that while the company has seen growth in its past earnings, analysts expect its future earnings to shrink. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page for the company.

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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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