Are Robust Financials Driving The Recent Rally In SIFCO Industries, Inc.'s (NYSEMKT:SIF) Stock?

SIFCO Industries (NYSEMKT:SIF) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 165% over the last three months. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. In this article, we decided to focus on SIFCO Industries' ROE.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

View our latest analysis for SIFCO Industries

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

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 SIFCO Industries is:

20% = US$9.2m ÷ US$46m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.20.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. 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.

SIFCO Industries' Earnings Growth And 20% ROE

To begin with, SIFCO Industries seems to have a respectable ROE. Especially when compared to the industry average of 11% the company's ROE looks pretty impressive. This probably laid the ground for SIFCO Industries' moderate 18% net income growth seen over the past five years.

As a next step, we compared SIFCO Industries' net income growth with the industry and found that the company has a similar growth figure when compared with the industry average growth rate of 17% in the same period.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. 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 SIFCO Industries is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is SIFCO Industries Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

SIFCO Industries doesn't pay any dividend currently which essentially means that it has been reinvesting all of its profits into the business. This definitely contributes to the decent earnings growth number that we discussed above.

Summary

In total, we are pretty happy with SIFCO Industries' performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. If the company continues to grow its earnings the way it has, that could have a positive impact on its share price given how earnings per share influence long-term share prices. Let's not forget, business risk is also one of the factors that affects the price of the stock. So this is also an important area that investors need to pay attention to before making a decision on any business. Our risks dashboard would have the 5 risks we have identified for SIFCO Industries.

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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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