Laurent-Perrier's (EPA:LPE) stock up by 5.9% over the past three months. We wonder if and what role the company's financials play in that price change as a company's long-term fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes. Specifically, we decided to study Laurent-Perrier's ROE in this article.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. 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 Laurent-Perrier
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 Laurent-Perrier is:
4.6% = €20m ÷ €438m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).
The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every €1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of €0.05.
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. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. 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.
Laurent-Perrier's Earnings Growth And 4.6% ROE
At first glance, Laurent-Perrier's ROE doesn't look very promising. Although a closer study shows that the company's ROE is higher than the industry average of 2.1% which we definitely can't overlook. Having said that, Laurent-Perrier's net income growth over the past five years is more or less flat. Bear in mind, the company does have a slightly low ROE. It is just that the industry ROE is lower. Therefore, the low to flat growth in earnings could also be the result of this.
We then compared Laurent-Perrier's performance with the industry and found that the company has shrunk its earnings at a slower rate than the industry earnings which has seen its earnings shrink by 9.2% in the same period. This does appease the negative sentiment around the company to a certain extent.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. 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 Laurent-Perrier is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Is Laurent-Perrier Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
In spite of a normal three-year median payout ratio of 29% (or a retention ratio of 71%), Laurent-Perrier hasn't seen much growth in its earnings. So there could be some other explanation in that regard. For instance, the company's business may be deteriorating.
Additionally, Laurent-Perrier has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years, which means that the company's management is determined to pay dividends even if it means little to no earnings growth. Existing analyst estimates suggest that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 23% over the next three years. Accordingly, the expected drop in the payout ratio explains the expected increase in the company's ROE to 5.7%, over the same period.
Summary
Overall, we feel that Laurent-Perrier certainly does have some positive factors to consider. Yet, the low earnings growth is a bit concerning, especially given that the company has a respectable rate of return and is reinvesting a huge portion of its profits. By the looks of it, there could be some other factors, not necessarily in control of the business, that's preventing growth. With that said, we studied the latest analyst forecasts and found that while the company has shrunk its earnings in the past, analysts expect its earnings to grow in the future. 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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