Declining Stock and Solid Fundamentals: Is The Market Wrong About Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)?

It is hard to get excited after looking at Watts Water Technologies' (NYSE:WTS) recent performance, when its stock has declined 5.2% over the past month. 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 Watts Water Technologies' ROE.

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. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

See our latest analysis for Watts Water Technologies

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

Return on equity 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 Watts Water Technologies is:

17% = US$262m ÷ US$1.5b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.17 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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.

Watts Water Technologies' Earnings Growth And 17% ROE

At first glance, Watts Water Technologies seems to have a decent ROE. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 14%. This probably laid the ground for Watts Water Technologies' moderate 19% net income growth seen over the past five years.

As a next step, we compared Watts Water Technologies' net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 7.4%.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Has the market priced in the future outlook for WTS? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.

Is Watts Water Technologies Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

In Watts Water Technologies' 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.

Moreover, Watts Water Technologies is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years. 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 15%. Still, forecasts suggest that Watts Water Technologies' future ROE will rise to 21% even though the the company's payout ratio is not expected to change by much.

Conclusion

In total, we are pretty happy with Watts Water Technologies' performance. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a sizeable growth in its earnings. 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.