Are Strong Financial Prospects The Force That Is Driving The Momentum In Woowon Development Co., Ltd.'s KOSDAQ:046940) Stock?

Woowon Development (KOSDAQ:046940) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 10% over the last three months. Since the market usually pay for a company’s long-term fundamentals, we decided to study the company’s key performance indicators to see if they could be influencing the market. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Woowon Development's ROE today.

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.

See our latest analysis for Woowon Development

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

Return on equity 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 Woowon Development is:

19% = ₩20b ÷ ₩105b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. That means that for every ₩1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated ₩0.19 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 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.

Woowon Development's Earnings Growth And 19% ROE

To start with, Woowon Development's ROE looks acceptable. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 9.6% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. Probably as a result of this, Woowon Development was able to see an impressive net income growth of 24% over the last five years. We believe that there might also be other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

We then compared Woowon Development's net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 18% in the same period.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. 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 Woowon Development is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Woowon Development Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with Woowon Development'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.

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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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