Is Willy-Food Investments Ltd's (TLV:WLFD) Recent Stock Performance Influenced By Its Fundamentals In Any Way?

Willy-Food Investments' (TLV:WLFD) stock is up by a considerable 5.7% over the past month. Given that stock prices are usually aligned with a company's financial performance in the long-term, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely to see if they had a hand to play in the recent price move. Specifically, we decided to study Willy-Food Investments' ROE in this article.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

See our latest analysis for Willy-Food Investments

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

Return on equity 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 Willy-Food Investments is:

8.8% = ₪50m ÷ ₪570m (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 ₪0.09 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. 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 Willy-Food Investments' Earnings Growth And 8.8% ROE

On the face of it, Willy-Food Investments' ROE is not much to talk about. We then compared the company's ROE to the broader industry and were disappointed to see that the ROE is lower than the industry average of 18%. However, we we're pleasantly surprised to see that Willy-Food Investments grew its net income at a significant rate of 37% in the last five years. Therefore, there could be other reasons behind this growth. 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 compared Willy-Food Investments' 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 22% 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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. If you're wondering about Willy-Food Investments''s valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Willy-Food Investments Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

While the company did pay out a portion of its dividend in the past, it currently doesn't pay a dividend. This is likely what's driving the high earnings growth number discussed above.

Summary

In total, it does look like Willy-Food Investments has some positive aspects to its business. Even in spite of the low rate of return, the company has posted impressive earnings growth as a result of reinvesting heavily into its business.

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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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