Why We Like The Returns At D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI)

Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. With that in mind, the ROCE of D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI) looks great, so lets see what the trend can tell us.

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

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for D.R. Horton, this is the formula:

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

0.21 = US$3.5b ÷ (US$20b - US$3.0b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

Thus, D.R. Horton has an ROCE of 21%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 14% earned by companies in a similar industry.

See our latest analysis for D.R. Horton

In the above chart we have measured D.R. Horton's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering D.R. Horton here for free.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

The trends we've noticed at D.R. Horton are quite reassuring. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 21%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 79%. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, a combination that's common among multi-baggers.

What We Can Learn From D.R. Horton's ROCE

A company that is growing its returns on capital and can consistently reinvest in itself is a highly sought after trait, and that's what D.R. Horton has. And a remarkable 229% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if D.R. Horton can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

One more thing to note, we've identified 2 warning signs with D.R. Horton and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

D.R. Horton is not the only stock earning high returns. If you'd like to see more, check out our free list of companies earning high returns on equity with solid fundamentals.

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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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