What Can We Learn About United States Lime & Minerals' (NASDAQ:USLM) CEO Compensation?

Timothy Byrne became the CEO of United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. (NASDAQ:USLM) in 2000, and we think it's a good time to look at the executive's compensation against the backdrop of overall company performance. This analysis will also evaluate the appropriateness of CEO compensation when taking into account the earnings and shareholder returns of the company.

Check out our latest analysis for United States Lime & Minerals

Comparing United States Lime & Minerals, Inc.'s CEO Compensation With the industry

Our data indicates that United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$522m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$2.6m for the year to December 2019. That's a notable increase of 20% on last year. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at US$450k.

On examining similar-sized companies in the industry with market capitalizations between US$200m and US$800m, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$603k. Accordingly, our analysis reveals that United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. pays Timothy Byrne north of the industry median. Moreover, Timothy Byrne also holds US$2.9m worth of United States Lime & Minerals stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company.

On an industry level, around 17% of total compensation represents salary and 83% is other remuneration. Although there is a difference in how total compensation is set, United States Lime & Minerals more or less reflects the market in terms of setting the salary. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance.

A Look at United States Lime & Minerals, Inc.'s Growth Numbers

United States Lime & Minerals, Inc.'s earnings per share (EPS) grew 9.8% per year over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 7.3%.

We're not particularly impressed by the revenue growth, but the modest improvement in EPS is good. Considering these factors we'd say performance has been pretty decent, though not amazing. While we don't have analyst forecasts for the company, shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

With a total shareholder return of 4.9% over three years, United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. has done okay by shareholders. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

To Conclude...

As we noted earlier, United States Lime & Minerals pays its CEO higher than the norm for similar-sized companies belonging to the same industry. But the company lacks EPS growth, and returns to shareholders are less than stellar, over the last three years. We'd stop short of saying CEO pay is inappropriate, but we'd like to see healthier business growth from the company, moving forward.

While CEO pay is an important factor to be aware of, there are other areas that investors should be mindful of as well. We've identified 1 warning sign for United States Lime & Minerals that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment.

Switching gears from United States Lime & Minerals, if you're hunting for a pristine balance sheet and premium returns, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

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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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