Should You Be Adding CDL Hospitality Trusts (SGX:J85) To Your Watchlist Today?

Investors are often guided by the idea of discovering 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without any revenue, let alone profit. Sometimes these stories can cloud the minds of investors, leading them to invest with their emotions rather than on the merit of good company fundamentals. Loss making companies can act like a sponge for capital - so investors should be cautious that they're not throwing good money after bad.

In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like CDL Hospitality Trusts (SGX:J85), which has not only revenues, but also profits. While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.

See our latest analysis for CDL Hospitality Trusts

CDL Hospitality Trusts' Earnings Per Share Are Growing

If you believe that markets are even vaguely efficient, then over the long term you'd expect a company's share price to follow its earnings per share (EPS) outcomes. Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. It certainly is nice to see that CDL Hospitality Trusts has managed to grow EPS by 23% per year over three years. If growth like this continues on into the future, then shareholders will have plenty to smile about.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. It's noted that CDL Hospitality Trusts' revenue from operations was lower than its revenue in the last twelve months, so that could distort our analysis of its margins. The good news is that CDL Hospitality Trusts is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 5.2 percentage points to 37%, over the last year. Both of which are great metrics to check off for potential growth.

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. For finer detail, click on the image.

You don't drive with your eyes on the rear-view mirror, so you might be more interested in this free report showing analyst forecasts for CDL Hospitality Trusts' future profits.

Are CDL Hospitality Trusts Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

As a general rule, it's worth considering how much the CEO is paid, since unreasonably high rates could be considered against the interests of shareholders. Our analysis has discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like CDL Hospitality Trusts with market caps between S$542m and S$2.2b is about S$1.3m.

CDL Hospitality Trusts' CEO only received compensation totalling S$50k in the year to December 2021. You could consider this pay as somewhat symbolic, which suggests the CEO does not need a lot of compensation to stay motivated. CEO compensation is hardly the most important aspect of a company to consider, but when it's reasonable, that gives a little more confidence that leadership are looking out for shareholder interests. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally.

Should You Add CDL Hospitality Trusts To Your Watchlist?

If you believe that share price follows earnings per share you should definitely be delving further into CDL Hospitality Trusts' strong EPS growth. The fast growth bodes well while the very reasonable CEO pay assists builds some confidence in the board. We think that based on its merits alone, this stock is worth watching into the future. You still need to take note of risks, for example - CDL Hospitality Trusts has 4 warning signs (and 2 which make us uncomfortable) we think you should know about.

The beauty of investing is that you can invest in almost any company you want. But if you prefer to focus on stocks that have demonstrated insider buying, here is a list of companies with insider buying in the last three months.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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.