Aquila Services Group plc's (LON:AQSG) Stock Price Has Stayed Flat But Financial Prospects Look Decent: Can The Market Catch Up?

It is easy to overlook Aquila Services Group's (LON:AQSG) given its unimpressive and roughly flat price performance over the past week. However, the company's key financials probably have more to say so you may want to give the company a closer look given that stock prices usually follow the long-term financial performance of a business. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Aquila Services Group's ROE today.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

View our latest analysis for Aquila Services Group

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 Aquila Services Group is:

1.8% = UK£105k ÷ UK£5.7m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every £1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated £0.02 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For 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 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.

A Side By Side comparison of Aquila Services Group's Earnings Growth And 1.8% ROE

It is quite clear that Aquila Services Group's ROE is rather low. Even compared to the average industry ROE of 14%, the company's ROE is quite dismal. In spite of this, Aquila Services Group was able to grow its net income considerably, at a rate of 66% in the last five years. Therefore, there could be other reasons behind this growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

We then compared Aquila Services Group's net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 16% 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 Aquila Services Group fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Aquila Services Group Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Aquila Services Group has a significant three-year median payout ratio of 68%, meaning the company only retains 32% of its income. This implies that the company has been able to achieve high earnings growth despite returning most of its profits to shareholders.

Moreover, Aquila Services Group is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of five years of paying a dividend.

Conclusion

In total, it does look like Aquila Services Group has some positive aspects to its business. That is, quite an impressive growth in earnings. However, the low profit retention means that the company's earnings growth could have been higher, had it been reinvesting a higher portion of its profits. Until now, we have only just grazed the surface of the company's past performance by looking at the company's fundamentals. So it may be worth checking this free detailed graph of Aquila Services Group's past earnings, as well as revenue and cash flows to get a deeper insight into the company's performance.

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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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