Can Mixed Fundamentals Have A Negative Impact on CKX Lands, Inc. (NYSEMKT:CKX) Current Share Price Momentum?

Most readers would already be aware that CKX Lands' (NYSEMKT:CKX) stock increased significantly by 42% over the past three months. But the company's key financial indicators appear to be differing across the board and that makes us question whether or not the company's current share price momentum can be maintained. In this article, we decided to focus on CKX Lands' ROE.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

See our latest analysis for CKX Lands

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

ROE 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 CKX Lands is:

2.1% = US$339k ÷ US$16m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.02 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

CKX Lands' Earnings Growth And 2.1% ROE

It is quite clear that CKX Lands' ROE is rather low. Even when compared to the industry average of 7.8%, the ROE figure is pretty disappointing. Therefore, CKX Lands' flat earnings over the past five years can possibly be explained by the low ROE amongst other factors.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that CKX Lands' reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 4.8% in the same period, which is not something we like to see.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if CKX Lands is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is CKX Lands Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

While the company did pay out a portion of its dividend in the past, it currently doesn't pay a dividend. We infer that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits to grow its business.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that the performance shown by CKX Lands can be open to many interpretations. While the company does have a high rate of profit retention, its low rate of return is probably hampering its earnings growth. So far, we've only made a quick discussion around the company's earnings growth. To gain further insights into CKX Lands' past profit growth, check out this visualization of past earnings, revenue and cash flows.

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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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