Is Rail Vikas Nigam Limited's (NSE:RVNL) Stock's Recent Performance Being Led By Its Attractive Financial Prospects?

Most readers would already be aware that Rail Vikas Nigam's (NSE:RVNL) stock increased significantly by 9.7% over the past week. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Rail Vikas Nigam's ROE today.

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.

See our latest analysis for Rail Vikas Nigam

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

ROE 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 Rail Vikas Nigam is:

15% = ₹13b ÷ ₹88b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every ₹1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of ₹0.15.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don’t share these attributes.

Rail Vikas Nigam's Earnings Growth And 15% ROE

At first glance, Rail Vikas Nigam seems to have a decent ROE. Even when compared to the industry average of 13% the company's ROE looks quite decent. Consequently, this likely laid the ground for the decent growth of 16% seen over the past five years by Rail Vikas Nigam.

We then compared Rail Vikas Nigam's net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 31% in the same 5-year period, which is a bit concerning.

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). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. 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 Rail Vikas Nigam is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Rail Vikas Nigam Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Rail Vikas Nigam has a three-year median payout ratio of 31%, which implies that it retains the remaining 69% of its profits. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the decent growth seen by the company, it looks like management is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.

Additionally, Rail Vikas Nigam has paid dividends over a period of five years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 33%. Therefore, the company's future ROE is also not expected to change by much with analysts predicting an ROE of 16%.

Summary

On the whole, we feel that Rail Vikas Nigam's performance has been quite good. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a respectable growth in its earnings. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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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.