If You Like EPS Growth Then Check Out Gujarat Gas (NSE:GUJGASLTD) Before It's Too Late

Some have more dollars than sense, they say, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can easily find investors. But the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses.

In contrast to all that, I prefer to spend time on companies like Gujarat Gas (NSE:GUJGASLTD), which has not only revenues, but also profits. While that doesn't make the shares worth buying at any price, you can't deny that successful capitalism requires profit, eventually. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, but time is often a friend of the profitable company, especially if it is growing.

View our latest analysis for Gujarat Gas

Gujarat Gas's Improving Profits

In the last three years Gujarat Gas's earnings per share took off like a rocket; fast, and from a low base. So the actual rate of growth doesn't tell us much. Thus, it makes sense to focus on more recent growth rates, instead. Over twelve months, Gujarat Gas increased its EPS from ₹17.41 to ₹18.56. That amounts to a small improvement of 6.6%.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. Unfortunately, Gujarat Gas's revenue dropped 4.3% last year, but the silver lining is that EBIT margins improved from 13% to 18%. That falls short of ideal.

In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings, and revenue, over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.

Of course the knack is to find stocks that have their best days in the future, not in the past. You could base your opinion on past performance, of course, but you may also want to check this interactive graph of professional analyst EPS forecasts for Gujarat Gas.

Are Gujarat Gas Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

As a general rule, I think it worth considering how much the CEO is paid, since unreasonably high rates could be considered against the interests of shareholders. For companies with market capitalizations between ₹298b and ₹893b, like Gujarat Gas, the median CEO pay is around ₹52m.

The Gujarat Gas CEO received total compensation of only ₹98k in the year to . You could consider this pay as somewhat symbolic, which suggests the CEO does not need a lot of compensation to stay motivated. While the level of CEO compensation isn't a huge factor in my view of the company, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.

Is Gujarat Gas Worth Keeping An Eye On?

One important encouraging feature of Gujarat Gas is that it is growing profits. On top of that, my faith in the board of directors is strengthened by the fact of the reasonable CEO pay. So I do think the stock deserves further research, if not instant addition to your watchlist. It's still necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Gujarat Gas , and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

Although Gujarat Gas certainly looks good to me, I would like it more if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see insider buying, too, then this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying, could be exactly what you're looking for.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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