Returns On Capital At Hope Education Group (HKG:1765) Paint A Concerning Picture

What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think Hope Education Group (HKG:1765) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Hope Education Group:

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

0.04 = CN¥434m ÷ (CN¥15b - CN¥4.3b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to February 2021).

So, Hope Education Group has an ROCE of 4.0%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Consumer Services industry average of 7.6%.

View our latest analysis for Hope Education Group

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Hope Education Group compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Unfortunately, the trend isn't great with ROCE falling from 9.1% five years ago, while capital employed has grown 503%. Usually this isn't ideal, but given Hope Education Group conducted a capital raising before their most recent earnings announcement, that would've likely contributed, at least partially, to the increased capital employed figure. The funds raised likely haven't been put to work yet so it's worth watching what happens in the future with Hope Education Group's earnings and if they change as a result from the capital raise. It's also worth noting the company's latest EBIT figure is within 10% of the previous year, so it's fair to assign the ROCE drop largely to the capital raise.

On a related note, Hope Education Group has decreased its current liabilities to 28% of total assets. So we could link some of this to the decrease in ROCE. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE.

Our Take On Hope Education Group's ROCE

While returns have fallen for Hope Education Group in recent times, we're encouraged to see that sales are growing and that the business is reinvesting in its operations. These trends are starting to be recognized by investors since the stock has delivered a 20% gain to shareholders who've held over the last three years. So this stock may still be an appealing investment opportunity, if other fundamentals prove to be sound.

On a final note, we found 4 warning signs for Hope Education Group (1 is significant) you should be aware of.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

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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.
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