Does Tootsie Roll Industries (NYSE:TR) Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. Sometimes these stories can cloud the minds of investors, leading them to invest with their emotions rather than on the merit of good company fundamentals. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, so investors in these companies may be taking on more risk than they should.

So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Tootsie Roll Industries (NYSE:TR). Now this is not to say that the company presents the best investment opportunity around, but profitability is a key component to success in business.

View our latest analysis for Tootsie Roll Industries

Tootsie Roll Industries' Earnings Per Share Are Growing

The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so you'd expect share price to follow earnings per share (EPS) outcomes eventually. That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. We can see that in the last three years Tootsie Roll Industries grew its EPS by 5.6% per year. This may not be setting the world alight, but it does show that EPS is on the upwards trend.

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. Tootsie Roll Industries maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 25% to US$665m. That's a real positive.

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. For finer detail, click on the image.

While profitability drives the upside, prudent investors always check the balance sheet, too.

Are Tootsie Roll Industries Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Many consider high insider ownership to be a strong sign of alignment between the leaders of a company and the ordinary shareholders. So as you can imagine, the fact that Tootsie Roll Industries insiders own a significant number of shares certainly is appealing. In fact, they own 74% of the company, so they will share in the same delights and challenges experienced by the ordinary shareholders. This makes it apparent they will be incentivised to plan for the long term - a positive for shareholders with a sit and hold strategy. And their holding is extremely valuable at the current share price, totalling US$2.3b. That level of investment from insiders is nothing to sneeze at.

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. Well, based on the CEO pay, you'd argue that they are indeed. Our analysis has discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Tootsie Roll Industries with market caps between US$2.0b and US$6.4b is about US$6.4m.

Tootsie Roll Industries offered total compensation worth US$5.4m to its CEO in the year to December 2021. 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. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.

Should You Add Tootsie Roll Industries To Your Watchlist?

One important encouraging feature of Tootsie Roll Industries is that it is growing profits. The growth of EPS may be the eye-catching headline for Tootsie Roll Industries, but there's more to bring joy for shareholders. With company insiders aligning themselves considerably with the company's success and modest CEO compensation, there's no arguments that this is a stock worth looking into. We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 1 warning sign for Tootsie Roll Industries that you need to be mindful of.

There's always the possibility of doing well buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But for those who consider these important metrics, we encourage you to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a free list of them here.

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.