KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company, Inc.'s (KRX:052690) Stock Is Going Strong: Have Financials A Role To Play?

KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company's (KRX:052690) stock is up by a considerable 13% over the past month. We wonder if and what role the company's financials play in that price change as a company's long-term fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes. Specifically, we decided to study KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company's ROE in this article.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

Check out our latest analysis for KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company is:

7.2% = ₩39b ÷ ₩551b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each ₩1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made ₩0.07 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don’t share these attributes.

A Side By Side comparison of KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company's Earnings Growth And 7.2% ROE

When you first look at it, KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company's ROE doesn't look that attractive. However, given that the company's ROE is similar to the average industry ROE of 6.7%, we may spare it some thought. Even so, KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company has shown a fairly decent growth in its net income which grew at a rate of 19%. Given the slightly low ROE, it is likely that there could be some other aspects that are driving this growth. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.

We then compared KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company'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 9.1% in the same 5-year period.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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. If you're wondering about KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company has a significant three-year median payout ratio of 53%, meaning that it is left with only 47% to reinvest into its business. This implies that the company has been able to achieve decent earnings growth despite returning most of its profits to shareholders.

Moreover, KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of four years of paying a dividend. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 55%. Regardless, the future ROE for KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company is predicted to rise to 11% despite there being not much change expected in its payout ratio.

Summary

In total, it does look like KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company has some positive aspects to its business. While no doubt its earnings growth is pretty substantial, we do feel that the reinvestment rate is pretty low, meaning, the earnings growth number could have been significantly higher had the company been retaining more of its profits. That being so, the latest analyst forecasts show that the company will continue to see an expansion in its earnings. 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.