Is The Market Rewarding Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MTX) With A Negative Sentiment As A Result Of Its Mixed Fundamentals?

It is hard to get excited after looking at Minerals Technologies' (NYSE:MTX) recent performance, when its stock has declined 8.6% over the past month. It is possible that the markets have ignored the company's differing financials and decided to lean-in to the negative sentiment. Stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, and therefore we decided to pay more attention to the company's financial performance. In this article, we decided to focus on Minerals Technologies' ROE.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

View our latest analysis for Minerals Technologies

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

Return on equity can be calculated by using the formula:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Minerals Technologies is:

9.0% = US$157m ÷ US$1.7b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.09 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don’t share these attributes.

A Side By Side comparison of Minerals Technologies' Earnings Growth And 9.0% ROE

On the face of it, Minerals Technologies' ROE is not much to talk about. Yet, a closer study shows that the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 10%. But Minerals Technologies saw a five year net income decline of 5.5% over the past five years. Remember, the company's ROE is a bit low to begin with. So that's what might be causing earnings growth to shrink.

However, when we compared Minerals Technologies' growth with the industry we found that while the company's earnings have been shrinking, the industry has seen an earnings growth of 9.5% in the same period. This is quite worrisome.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is MTX fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is Minerals Technologies Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Minerals Technologies' low three-year median payout ratio of 5.7% (implying that it retains the remaining 94% of its profits) comes as a surprise when you pair it with the shrinking earnings. This typically shouldn't be the case when a company is retaining most of its earnings. So there could be some other explanations in that regard. For example, the company's business may be deteriorating.

Additionally, Minerals Technologies has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years, which means that the company's management is determined to pay dividends even if it means little to no earnings growth. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 6.1% of its profits over the next three years. Still, forecasts suggest that Minerals Technologies' future ROE will rise to 13% even though the the company's payout ratio is not expected to change by much.

Summary

Overall, we have mixed feelings about Minerals Technologies. While the company does have a high rate of reinvestment, the low ROE means that all that reinvestment is not reaping any benefit to its investors, and moreover, its having a negative impact on the earnings growth. With that said, we studied the latest analyst forecasts and found that while the company has shrunk its earnings in the past, analysts expect its earnings to grow in the future. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.

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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.