Returns Are Gaining Momentum At Delek Group (TLV:DLEKG)

If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Delek Group (TLV:DLEKG) so let's look a bit deeper.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Delek Group, this is the formula:

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

0.046 = ₪1.8b ÷ (₪46b - ₪6.8b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

So, Delek Group has an ROCE of 4.6%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Oil and Gas industry average of 14%.

Check out our latest analysis for Delek Group

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Delek Group's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you'd like to look at how Delek Group has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Delek Group Tell Us?

Delek Group has broken into the black (profitability) and we're sure it's a sight for sore eyes. The company now earns 4.6% on its capital, because five years ago it was incurring losses. Interestingly, the capital employed by the business has remained relatively flat, so these higher returns are either from prior investments paying off or increased efficiencies. With no noticeable increase in capital employed, it's worth knowing what the company plans on doing going forward in regards to reinvesting and growing the business. After all, a company can only become a long term multi-bagger if it continually reinvests in itself at high rates of return.

In another part of our analysis, we noticed that the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets decreased to 15%, which broadly means the business is relying less on its suppliers or short-term creditors to fund its operations. Therefore we can rest assured that the growth in ROCE is a result of the business' fundamental improvements, rather than a cooking class featuring this company's books.

The Bottom Line On Delek Group's ROCE

As discussed above, Delek Group appears to be getting more proficient at generating returns since capital employed has remained flat but earnings (before interest and tax) are up. Investors may not be impressed by the favorable underlying trends yet because over the last five years the stock has only returned 3.7% to shareholders. Given that, we'd look further into this stock in case it has more traits that could make it multiply in the long term.

If you want to know some of the risks facing Delek Group we've found 5 warning signs (1 shouldn't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive 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.