Should Weakness in SHIMAMURA Co., Ltd.'s (TSE:8227) Stock Be Seen As A Sign That Market Will Correct The Share Price Given Decent Financials?

With its stock down 2.6% over the past week, it is easy to disregard SHIMAMURA (TSE:8227). However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financials over the long term, which in this case look pretty respectable. Particularly, we will be paying attention to SHIMAMURA'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. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

View our latest analysis for SHIMAMURA

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 SHIMAMURA is:

8.2% = JP¥41b ÷ JP¥493b (Based on the trailing twelve months to November 2024).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each ¥1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made ¥0.08 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

SHIMAMURA's Earnings Growth And 8.2% ROE

When you first look at it, SHIMAMURA's ROE doesn't look that attractive. However, given that the company's ROE is similar to the average industry ROE of 9.7%, we may spare it some thought. Having said that, SHIMAMURA has shown a modest net income growth of 19% over the past five years. Given the slightly low ROE, it is likely that there could be some other aspects that are driving this growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that SHIMAMURA's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 13% in the same period, which is great to see.

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. 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 SHIMAMURA is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is SHIMAMURA Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

SHIMAMURA has a three-year median payout ratio of 25%, which implies that it retains the remaining 75% 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.

Moreover, SHIMAMURA is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years.

Conclusion

On the whole, we do feel that SHIMAMURA has some positive attributes. With a high rate of reinvestment, albeit at a low ROE, the company has managed to see a considerable growth in its earnings. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page for the company.

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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.