The Return Trends At Green Brick Partners (NASDAQ:GRBK) Look Promising

If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So when we looked at Green Brick Partners (NASDAQ:GRBK) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Green Brick Partners:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.14 = US$130m ÷ (US$1.1b - US$146m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2021).

So, Green Brick Partners has an ROCE of 14%. That's a pretty standard return and it's in line with the industry average of 14%.

See our latest analysis for Green Brick Partners

In the above chart we have measured Green Brick Partners' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Green Brick Partners.

How Are Returns Trending?

The trends we've noticed at Green Brick Partners are quite reassuring. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 14%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 94%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

Our Take On Green Brick Partners' ROCE

All in all, it's terrific to see that Green Brick Partners is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. Since the stock has returned a staggering 215% to shareholders over the last five years, it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

One more thing, we've spotted 1 warning sign facing Green Brick Partners that you might find interesting.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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