Will the Promising Trends At Cohort (LON:CHRT) Continue?

To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. So when we looked at Cohort (LON:CHRT) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. To calculate this metric for Cohort, this is the formula:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.11 = UK£12m ÷ (UK£151m - UK£38m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to October 2020).

Therefore, Cohort has an ROCE of 11%. That's a pretty standard return and it's in line with the industry average of 11%.

View our latest analysis for Cohort

In the above chart we have measured Cohort's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

The Trend Of ROCE

Cohort is displaying some positive trends. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 11%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 46% more capital is being employed now too. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at Cohort thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.

Our Take On Cohort's ROCE

A company that is growing its returns on capital and can consistently reinvest in itself is a highly sought after trait, and that's what Cohort has. And with a respectable 96% awarded to those who held the stock over the last five years, you could argue that these developments are starting to get the attention they deserve. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing Cohort, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.

While Cohort may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list 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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