Are Higgstec Inc.'s (GTSM:5220) Fundamentals Good Enough to Warrant Buying Given The Stock's Recent Weakness?

Higgstec (GTSM:5220) has had a rough month with its share price down 6.5%. But if you pay close attention, you might find that its key financial indicators look quite decent, which could mean that the stock could potentially rise in the long-term given how markets usually reward more resilient long-term fundamentals. Specifically, we decided to study Higgstec's ROE in this article.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

Check out our latest analysis for Higgstec

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for return on equity is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Higgstec is:

19% = NT$146m ÷ NT$770m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that for every NT$1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated NT$0.19 in profit.

Why Is ROE Important For 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. 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.

Higgstec's Earnings Growth And 19% ROE

At first glance, Higgstec seems to have a decent ROE. Especially when compared to the industry average of 9.9% the company's ROE looks pretty impressive. Yet, Higgstec has posted measly growth of 4.6% over the past five years. This is generally not the case as when a company has a high rate of return it should usually also have a high earnings growth rate. A few likely reasons why this could happen is that the company could have a high payout ratio or the business has allocated capital poorly, for instance.

As a next step, we compared Higgstec'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 9.2% in the same period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. If you're wondering about Higgstec's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Higgstec Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

With a high three-year median payout ratio of 80% (or a retention ratio of 20%), most of Higgstec's profits are being paid to shareholders. This definitely contributes to the low earnings growth seen by the company.

Additionally, Higgstec has paid dividends over a period of six years, which means that the company's management is determined to pay dividends even if it means little to no earnings growth.

Summary

Overall, we feel that Higgstec certainly does have some positive factors to consider. Yet, the low earnings growth is a bit concerning, especially given that the company has a high rate of return. Investors could have benefitted from the high ROE, had the company been reinvesting more of its earnings. As discussed earlier, the company is retaining a small portion of its profits. While we won't completely dismiss the company, what we would do, is try to ascertain how risky the business is to make a more informed decision around the company. Our risks dashboard would have the 5 risks we have identified for Higgstec.

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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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