Here's Why We Think United States Lime & Minerals (NASDAQ:USLM) Might Deserve Your Attention Today

The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.

Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like United States Lime & Minerals (NASDAQ:USLM). While this doesn't necessarily speak to whether it's undervalued, the profitability of the business is enough to warrant some appreciation - especially if its growing.

See our latest analysis for United States Lime & Minerals

United States Lime & Minerals' Earnings Per Share Are Growing

If a company can keep growing earnings per share (EPS) long enough, its share price should eventually follow. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. United States Lime & Minerals' shareholders have have plenty to be happy about as their annual EPS growth for the last 3 years was 38%. While that sort of growth rate isn't sustainable for long, it certainly catches the eye of prospective investors.

Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. The good news is that United States Lime & Minerals is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 7.2 percentage points to 30%, over the last year. That's great to see, on both counts.

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.

While it's always good to see growing profits, you should always remember that a weak balance sheet could come back to bite. So check United States Lime & Minerals' balance sheet strength, before getting too excited.

Are United States Lime & Minerals Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It's pleasing to see company leaders with putting their money on the line, so to speak, because it increases alignment of incentives between the people running the business, and its true owners. So it is good to see that United States Lime & Minerals insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. Indeed, they hold US$18m worth of its stock. This considerable investment should help drive long-term value in the business. While their ownership only accounts for 1.0%, this is still a considerable amount at stake to encourage the business to maintain a strategy that will deliver value to shareholders.

It means a lot to see insiders invested in the business, but shareholders may be wondering if remuneration policies are in their best interest. A brief analysis of the CEO compensation suggests they are. Our analysis has discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like United States Lime & Minerals with market caps between US$1.0b and US$3.2b is about US$5.1m.

The United States Lime & Minerals CEO received US$4.1m in compensation for the year ending December 2022. 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 good governance, more generally.

Should You Add United States Lime & Minerals To Your Watchlist?

United States Lime & Minerals' earnings per share growth have been climbing higher at an appreciable rate. The sweetener is that insiders have a mountain of stock, and the CEO remuneration is quite reasonable. The drastic earnings growth indicates the business is going from strength to strength. Hopefully a trend that continues well into the future. Big growth can make big winners, so the writing on the wall tells us that United States Lime & Minerals is worth considering carefully. What about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for United States Lime & Minerals you should know about.

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 tailored list of companies which have demonstrated growth backed by recent insider purchases.

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.