Will Weakness in Lagercrantz Group AB (publ)'s (STO:LAGR B) Stock Prove Temporary Given Strong Fundamentals?

With its stock down 25% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard Lagercrantz Group (STO:LAGR B). 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. In this article, we decided to focus on Lagercrantz Group's ROE.

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.

View our latest analysis for Lagercrantz Group

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 Lagercrantz Group is:

26% = kr529m ÷ kr2.0b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each SEK1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made SEK0.26 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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.

A Side By Side comparison of Lagercrantz Group's Earnings Growth And 26% ROE

First thing first, we like that Lagercrantz Group has an impressive ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 11% the company's ROE is quite impressive. This likely paved the way for the modest 12% net income growth seen by Lagercrantz Group over the past five years. growth

As a next step, we compared Lagercrantz Group's net income growth with the industry and were disappointed to see that the company's growth is lower than the industry average growth of 16% in the same 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. Is LAGR B fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is Lagercrantz Group Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Lagercrantz Group has a healthy combination of a moderate three-year median payout ratio of 41% (or a retention ratio of 59%) and a respectable amount of growth in earnings as we saw above, meaning that the company has been making efficient use of its profits.

Besides, Lagercrantz Group has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. 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 41%. Accordingly, forecasts suggest that Lagercrantz Group's future ROE will be 27% which is again, similar to the current ROE.

Summary

In total, we are pretty happy with Lagercrantz Group's performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. As a result, the decent growth in its earnings is not surprising. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.