Should You Be Adding Daiwa Computer (TSE:3816) To Your Watchlist Today?

The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, so investors in these companies may be taking on more risk than they should.

So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Daiwa Computer (TSE:3816). While this doesn't necessarily speak to whether it's undervalued, the profitability of the business is enough to warrant some appreciation - especially if its growing.

View our latest analysis for Daiwa Computer

How Fast Is Daiwa Computer Growing?

If you believe that markets are even vaguely efficient, then over the long term you'd expect a company's share price to follow its earnings per share (EPS) outcomes. That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. We can see that in the last three years Daiwa Computer grew its EPS by 9.1% per year. That's a good rate of growth, if it can be sustained.

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. Daiwa Computer shareholders can take confidence from the fact that EBIT margins are up from 15% to 19%, and revenue is growing. Both of which are great metrics to check off for potential growth.

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.

Daiwa Computer isn't a huge company, given its market capitalisation of JP¥6.1b. That makes it extra important to check on its balance sheet strength.

Are Daiwa Computer Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Seeing insiders owning a large portion of the shares on issue is often a good sign. Their incentives will be aligned with the investors and there's less of a probability in a sudden sell-off that would impact the share price. So as you can imagine, the fact that Daiwa Computer insiders own a significant number of shares certainly is appealing. In fact, they own 50% of the shares, making insiders a very influential shareholder group. This should be a welcoming sign for investors because it suggests that the people making the decisions are also impacted by their choices. With that sort of holding, insiders have about JP¥3.0b riding on the stock, at current prices. That should be more than enough to keep them focussed on creating shareholder value!

Is Daiwa Computer Worth Keeping An Eye On?

One important encouraging feature of Daiwa Computer is that it is growing profits. To add an extra spark to the fire, significant insider ownership in the company is another highlight. The combination definitely favoured by investors so consider keeping the company on a watchlist. We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 2 warning signs for Daiwa Computer (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you need to be mindful of.

There's always the possibility of doing well buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But for those who consider these important metrics, we encourage you to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a tailored list of Japanese companies which have demonstrated growth backed by recent insider purchases.

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

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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.