Is Fox-Wizel Ltd.'s (TLV:FOX) Stock's Recent Performance Being Led By Its Attractive Financial Prospects?

Fox-Wizel's (TLV:FOX) stock is up by a considerable 11% over the past three months. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. In this article, we decided to focus on Fox-Wizel's ROE.

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. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

View our latest analysis for Fox-Wizel

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for ROE is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Fox-Wizel is:

17% = ₪186m ÷ ₪1.1b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. That means that for every ₪1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated ₪0.17 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For 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 all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

A Side By Side comparison of Fox-Wizel's Earnings Growth And 17% ROE

To begin with, Fox-Wizel seems to have a respectable ROE. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 13% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. This probably laid the ground for Fox-Wizel's significant 34% net income growth seen over the past five years. We reckon that there could also be other factors at play here. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Fox-Wizel's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 8.0% in the same period, which is great to see.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if Fox-Wizel is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Fox-Wizel Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Fox-Wizel has a three-year median payout ratio of 46% (where it is retaining 54% of its income) which is not too low or not too high. So it seems that Fox-Wizel is reinvesting efficiently in a way that it sees impressive growth in its earnings (discussed above) and pays a dividend that's well covered.

Additionally, Fox-Wizel has paid dividends over a period of eight years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that Fox-Wizel's 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. If the company continues to grow its earnings the way it has, that could have a positive impact on its share price given how earnings per share influence long-term share prices. Not to forget, share price outcomes are also dependent on the potential risks a company may face. So it is important for investors to be aware of the risks involved in the business. To know the 3 risks we have identified for Fox-Wizel visit our risks dashboard for free.

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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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