If EPS Growth Is Important To You, CBIZ (NYSE:CBZ) Presents An Opportunity

It's common for many investors, especially those who are inexperienced, to buy shares in companies with a good story even if these companies are loss-making. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.

Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like CBIZ (NYSE:CBZ). Even if this company is fairly valued by the market, investors would agree that generating consistent profits will continue to provide CBIZ with the means to add long-term value to shareholders.

See our latest analysis for CBIZ

CBIZ's Earnings Per Share Are Growing

If a company can keep growing earnings per share (EPS) long enough, its share price should eventually follow. That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. It certainly is nice to see that CBIZ has managed to grow EPS by 20% per year over three years. If the company can sustain that sort of growth, we'd expect shareholders to come away satisfied.

Top-line growth is a great indicator that growth is sustainable, and combined with a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin, it's a great way for a company to maintain a competitive advantage in the market. On the one hand, CBIZ's EBIT margins fell over the last year, but on the other hand, revenue grew. So if EBIT margins can stabilize, this top-line growth should pay off for shareholders.

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.

Fortunately, we've got access to analyst forecasts of CBIZ's future profits. You can do your own forecasts without looking, or you can take a peek at what the professionals are predicting.

Are CBIZ Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It's pleasing to see company leaders with putting their money on the line, so to speak, because it increases alignment of incentives between the people running the business, and its true owners. So it is good to see that CBIZ insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. Indeed, they have a considerable amount of wealth invested in it, currently valued at US$155m. Investors will appreciate management having this amount of skin in the game as it shows their commitment to the company's future.

While it's always good to see some strong conviction in the company from insiders through heavy investment, it's also important for shareholders to ask if management compensation policies are reasonable. A brief analysis of the CEO compensation suggests they are. The median total compensation for CEOs of companies similar in size to CBIZ, with market caps between US$2.0b and US$6.4b, is around US$6.4m.

CBIZ offered total compensation worth US$4.9m to its CEO in the year to December 2022. That is actually below the median for CEO's of similarly sized companies. 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. Generally, arguments can be made that reasonable pay levels attest to good decision-making.

Is CBIZ Worth Keeping An Eye On?

If you believe that share price follows earnings per share you should definitely be delving further into CBIZ's strong EPS growth. If that's not enough, consider also that the CEO pay is quite reasonable, and insiders are well-invested alongside other shareholders. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to investing but it definitely makes CBIZ look rather interesting indeed. We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 2 warning signs for CBIZ that you need to be mindful of.

Although CBIZ certainly looks good, it may appeal to more investors if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see companies with insider buying, then check out this handpicked selection of companies that not only boast of strong growth but have also seen recent insider buying..

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

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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.