Is Toshin Group Co.,Ltd.'s (TYO:2761) Stock Price Struggling As A Result Of Its Mixed Financials?

Toshin GroupLtd (TYO:2761) has had a rough three months with its share price down 2.0%. It is possible that the markets have ignored the company's differing financials and decided to lean-in to the negative sentiment. Fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes so it makes sense to study the company's financials. In this article, we decided to focus on Toshin GroupLtd's ROE.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

View our latest analysis for Toshin GroupLtd

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 Toshin GroupLtd is:

4.5% = JP¥1.6b ÷ JP¥36b (Based on the trailing twelve months to August 2020).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every ¥1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of ¥0.05.

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.

A Side By Side comparison of Toshin GroupLtd's Earnings Growth And 4.5% ROE

When you first look at it, Toshin GroupLtd's ROE doesn't look that attractive. We then compared the company's ROE to the broader industry and were disappointed to see that the ROE is lower than the industry average of 6.0%. Accordingly, Toshin GroupLtd's low net income growth of 2.2% over the past five years can possibly be explained by the low ROE amongst other factors.

We then compared Toshin GroupLtd's net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 5.4% in the same period, which is a bit concerning.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. 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 Toshin GroupLtd is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Toshin GroupLtd Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Toshin GroupLtd's low three-year median payout ratio of 23% (or a retention ratio of 77%) should mean that the company is retaining most of its earnings to fuel its growth. However, the low earnings growth number doesn't reflect this fact. So there might be other factors at play here which could potentially be hampering growth. For example, the business has faced some headwinds.

Moreover, Toshin GroupLtd has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more suggesting that management must have perceived that the shareholders prefer dividends over earnings growth.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that the performance shown by Toshin GroupLtd can be open to many interpretations. While the company does have a high rate of profit retention, its low rate of return is probably hampering its earnings growth.

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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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