Will Weakness in Hikal Limited's (NSE:HIKAL) Stock Prove Temporary Given Strong Fundamentals?

Hikal (NSE:HIKAL) has had a rough three months with its share price down 19%. However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. In this article, we decided to focus on Hikal's ROE.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

See our latest analysis for Hikal

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Hikal is:

18% = ₹1.9b ÷ ₹10b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that for every ₹1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated ₹0.18 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. 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.

Hikal's Earnings Growth And 18% ROE

At first glance, Hikal seems to have a decent ROE. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 15% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. This certainly adds some context to Hikal's decent 18% net income growth seen over the past five years.

We then performed a comparison between Hikal's net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 22% in the same period.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. If you're wondering about Hikal's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Hikal Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

In Hikal's case, its respectable earnings growth can probably be explained by its low three-year median payout ratio of 15% (or a retention ratio of 85%), which suggests that the company is investing most of its profits to grow its business.

Additionally, Hikal has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders.

Summary

Overall, we are quite pleased with Hikal's performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. The latest industry analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to maintain its current growth rate. 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.