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. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. So when we looked at DorianG (NYSE:LPG) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.
Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?
For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for DorianG:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.14 = US$225m ÷ (US$1.7b - US$97m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).
Thus, DorianG has an ROCE of 14%. In isolation, that's a pretty standard return but against the Oil and Gas industry average of 20%, it's not as good.
View our latest analysis for DorianG
In the above chart we have measured DorianG's 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 DorianG.
What Does the ROCE Trend For DorianG Tell Us?
We're delighted to see that DorianG is reaping rewards from its investments and has now broken into profitability. While the business was unprofitable in the past, it's now turned things around and is earning 14% on its capital. While returns have increased, the amount of capital employed by DorianG has remained flat over the period. With no noticeable increase in capital employed, it's worth knowing what the company plans on doing going forward in regards to reinvesting and growing the business. Because in the end, a business can only get so efficient.
What We Can Learn From DorianG's ROCE
To bring it all together, DorianG has done well to increase the returns it's generating from its capital employed. And a remarkable 607% 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 DorianG can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.
DorianG does come with some risks though, we found 4 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those makes us a bit uncomfortable...
For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.
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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.
About NYSE:LPG
DorianG
Engages in the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas through its LPG tankers worldwide.
Very undervalued with excellent balance sheet and pays a dividend.