Is Vijaya Diagnostic Centre Limited's (NSE:VIJAYA) Recent Stock Performance Tethered To Its Strong Fundamentals?

Most readers would already be aware that Vijaya Diagnostic Centre's (NSE:VIJAYA) stock increased significantly by 14% over the past three months. Since the market usually pay for a company’s long-term fundamentals, we decided to study the company’s key performance indicators to see if they could be influencing the market. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Vijaya Diagnostic Centre's ROE today.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

Check out our latest analysis for Vijaya Diagnostic Centre

How Is ROE Calculated?

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 Vijaya Diagnostic Centre is:

19% = ₹1.2b ÷ ₹6.6b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. One way to conceptualize this is that for each ₹1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made ₹0.19 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 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.

Vijaya Diagnostic Centre's Earnings Growth And 19% ROE

To start with, Vijaya Diagnostic Centre's ROE looks acceptable. Especially when compared to the industry average of 12% the company's ROE looks pretty impressive. This certainly adds some context to Vijaya Diagnostic Centre's decent 7.4% net income growth seen over the past five years.

We then compared Vijaya Diagnostic Centre's net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 29% in the same 5-year period, which is a bit concerning.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. If you're wondering about Vijaya Diagnostic Centre's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Vijaya Diagnostic Centre Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Vijaya Diagnostic Centre's three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 9.3% (implying that it retains 91% of its income), which is on the lower side, so it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business.

Along with seeing a growth in earnings, Vijaya Diagnostic Centre only recently started paying dividends. Its quite possible that the company was looking to impress its shareholders. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 9.8%. As a result, Vijaya Diagnostic Centre's ROE is not expected to change by much either, which we inferred from the analyst estimate of 22% for future ROE.

Summary

In total, we are pretty happy with Vijaya Diagnostic Centre's performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. As a result, the decent growth in its earnings is not surprising. Having said that, looking at the current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings are expected to gain momentum. 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.