Returns At Clarkson (LON:CKN) Appear To Be Weighed Down

If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing 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. However, after investigating Clarkson (LON:CKN), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

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 Clarkson, this is the formula:

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

0.12 = UK£46m ÷ (UK£573m - UK£177m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

Thus, Clarkson has an ROCE of 12%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 4.7% generated by the Shipping industry.

View our latest analysis for Clarkson

In the above chart we have measured Clarkson'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.

How Are Returns Trending?

There hasn't been much to report for Clarkson's returns and its level of capital employed because both metrics have been steady for the past five years. Businesses with these traits tend to be mature and steady operations because they're past the growth phase. So don't be surprised if Clarkson doesn't end up being a multi-bagger in a few years time. On top of that you'll notice that Clarkson has been paying out a large portion (65%) of earnings in the form of dividends to shareholders. If the company is in fact lacking growth opportunities, that's one of the viable alternatives for the money.

The Bottom Line

In summary, Clarkson isn't compounding its earnings but is generating stable returns on the same amount of capital employed. Since the stock has gained an impressive 57% over the last five years, investors must think there's better things to come. Ultimately, if the underlying trends persist, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger going forward.

On a separate note, we've found 1 warning sign for Clarkson you'll probably want to know about.

While Clarkson 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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