Is Atrion Corporation's (NASDAQ:ATRI) CEO Pay Justified?

David Battat has been the CEO of Atrion Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRI) since 2011. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

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How Does David Battat's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing our data says that Atrion Corporation has a market cap of US$1.4b, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of US$4.3m. (This number is for the twelve months until 2017). We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at US$620k. When we examined a selection of companies with market caps ranging from US$1.0b to US$3.2b, we found the median CEO compensation was US$3.5m.

So David Battat is paid around the average of the companies we looked at. Although this fact alone doesn't tell us a great deal, it becomes more relevant when considered against the business performance.

You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Atrion has changed over time.

Is Atrion Corporation Growing?

On average over the last three years, Atrion Corporation has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 9.1% each year (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 3.9% over the last year.

I would argue that the improvement in revenue isn't particularly impressive, but the modest improvement in EPS is good. It's clear the performance has been quite decent, but it it falls short of outstanding,based on this information.

We don't have analyst forecasts, but you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has Atrion Corporation Been A Good Investment?

Boasting a total shareholder return of 117% over three years, Atrion Corporation has done well by shareholders. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size.

In Summary...

David Battat is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies.

While we would like to see improved growth metrics, there is no doubt that the total returns have been great, over the last three years. So considering most shareholders would be happy, we'd say the CEO pay is appropriate. Shareholders may want to check for free if Atrion insiders are buying or selling shares.

Or you might prefer examine intentlythis intuitive graph showing past earnings and revenue.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

Simply Wall St analyst Simply Wall St and Simply Wall St have no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article 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.