Is Weakness In Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group Company (TADAWUL:4013) Stock A Sign That The Market Could be Wrong Given Its Strong Financial Prospects?

It is hard to get excited after looking at Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group's (TADAWUL:4013) recent performance, when its stock has declined 5.3% over the past three months. However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group's ROE today.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

View our latest analysis for Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group

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 Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group is:

31% = ر.س2.2b ÷ ر.س6.9b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every SAR1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn SAR0.31 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With 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 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.

Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group's Earnings Growth And 31% ROE

At first glance, Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group seems to have a decent ROE. Especially when compared to the industry average of 16% the company's ROE looks pretty impressive. Probably as a result of this, Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group was able to see an impressive net income growth of 21% over the last five years. We believe that there might also be other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

We then compared Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group'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 15% in the same 5-year period.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. 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 Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group has a significant three-year median payout ratio of 72%, meaning the company only retains 28% of its income. This implies that the company has been able to achieve high earnings growth despite returning most of its profits to shareholders.

Besides, Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group has been paying dividends over a period of four years. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 59%. Accordingly, forecasts suggest that Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group's future ROE will be 37% which is again, similar to the current ROE.

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group's performance. In particular, its high ROE is quite noteworthy and also the probable explanation behind its considerable earnings growth. Yet, the company is retaining a small portion of its profits. Which means that the company has been able to grow its earnings in spite of it, so that's not too bad. Having said that, the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down, as forecasted in the current analyst estimates. 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.