CJ ENM CO., Ltd.'s (KOSDAQ:035760) Has Had A Decent Run On The Stock market: Are Fundamentals In The Driver's Seat?

CJ ENM's (KOSDAQ:035760) stock is up by 4.7% over the past three months. As most would know, long-term fundamentals have a strong correlation with market price movements, so we decided to look at the company's key financial indicators today to determine if they have any role to play in the recent price movement. Particularly, we will be paying attention to CJ ENM'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. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

See our latest analysis for CJ ENM

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 CJ ENM is:

1.2% = ₩41b ÷ ₩3.4t (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

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 ₩0.01 in profit.

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.

CJ ENM's Earnings Growth And 1.2% ROE

It is hard to argue that CJ ENM's ROE is much good in and of itself. Even when compared to the industry average of 5.7%, the ROE figure is pretty disappointing. CJ ENM was still able to see a decent net income growth of 14% over the past five years. Therefore, the growth in earnings could probably have been caused by other variables. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

We then compared CJ ENM'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 9.9% in the same period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. 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. Is CJ ENM fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is CJ ENM Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

In CJ ENM's case, its respectable earnings growth can probably be explained by its low three-year median payout ratio of 18% (or a retention ratio of 82%), which suggests that the company is investing most of its profits to grow its business.

While CJ ENM has seen growth in its earnings, it only recently started to pay a dividend. It is most likely that the company decided to impress new and existing shareholders with a dividend. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 18%. However, CJ ENM's ROE is predicted to rise to 6.0% despite there being no anticipated change in its payout ratio.

Conclusion

Overall, we feel that CJ ENM certainly does have some positive factors to consider. Even in spite of the low rate of return, the company has posted impressive earnings growth as a result of reinvesting heavily into its business. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings are expected to accelerate. 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. 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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