Pan African Resources PLC's (LON:PAF) Fundamentals Look Pretty Strong: Could The Market Be Wrong About The Stock?

Pan African Resources (LON:PAF) has had a rough three months with its share price down 15%. But if you pay close attention, you might gather that its strong financials could mean that the stock could potentially see an increase in value in the long-term, given how markets usually reward companies with good financial health. Specifically, we decided to study Pan African Resources' 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. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

Check out our latest analysis for Pan African Resources

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 Pan African Resources is:

20% = US$58m ÷ US$292m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every £1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated £0.20 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. 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.

Pan African Resources' Earnings Growth And 20% ROE

To begin with, Pan African Resources seems to have a respectable ROE. Especially when compared to the industry average of 14% the company's ROE looks pretty impressive. This probably laid the ground for Pan African Resources' significant 21% net income growth seen over the past five years. We reckon that there could also be other factors at play here. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.

We then performed a comparison between Pan African Resources' net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 19% in the same period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. 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. If you're wondering about Pan African Resources''s valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Pan African Resources Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

The three-year median payout ratio for Pan African Resources is 30%, which is moderately low. The company is retaining the remaining 70%. So it seems that Pan African Resources is reinvesting efficiently in a way that it sees impressive growth in its earnings (discussed above) and pays a dividend that's well covered.

Besides, Pan African Resources has been paying dividends over a period of nine years. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 24%. Therefore, the company's future ROE is also not expected to change by much with analysts predicting an ROE of 16%.

Summary

On the whole, we feel that Pan African Resources' performance has been quite good. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. 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.

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

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.