Do Its Financials Have Any Role To Play In Driving Guerbet SA's (EPA:GBT) Stock Up Recently?

Guerbet's (EPA:GBT) stock is up by a considerable 11% over the past month. 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 Guerbet'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 short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

See our latest analysis for Guerbet

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

ROE 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 Guerbet is:

7.1% = €26m ÷ €375m (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 €0.07 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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.

Guerbet's Earnings Growth And 7.1% ROE

When you first look at it, Guerbet's ROE doesn't look that attractive. A quick further study shows that the company's ROE doesn't compare favorably to the industry average of 9.9% either. Thus, the low net income growth of 2.3% seen by Guerbet over the past five years could probably be the result of the low ROE.

We then performed a comparison between Guerbet's net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 2.3% in the same period.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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 Guerbet fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Guerbet Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

A low three-year median payout ratio of 24% (implying that the company retains the remaining 76% of its income) suggests that Guerbet is retaining most of its profits. This should be reflected in its earnings growth number, but that's not the case. So there might be other factors at play here which could potentially be hampering growth. For example, the business has faced some headwinds.

Additionally, Guerbet 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. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 23%. Therefore, the company's future ROE is also not expected to change by much with analysts predicting an ROE of 8.1%.

Summary

Overall, we feel that Guerbet certainly does have some positive factors to consider. Specifically, its fairly high earnings growth number, which no doubt was backed by the company's high earnings retention. Still, the low ROE means that all that reinvestment is not reaping a lot of benefit to the investors. Having said that, looking at the current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings are expected to gain momentum. 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.

If you’re looking to trade Guerbet, open an account with the lowest-cost* platform trusted by professionals, Interactive Brokers. Their clients from over 200 countries and territories trade stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds and funds worldwide from a single integrated account. Promoted

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.
^*Interactive Brokers Rated Lowest Cost Broker by StockBrokers.com Annual Online Review 2020

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