Shareholders Will Probably Hold Off On Increasing Cadiz Inc.'s (NASDAQ:CDZI) CEO Compensation For The Time Being

CEO Scott Slater has done a decent job of delivering relatively good performance at Cadiz Inc. (NASDAQ:CDZI) recently. In light of this performance, CEO compensation will probably not be the main focus for shareholders as they go into the AGM on 17 June 2021. However, some shareholders will still be cautious of paying the CEO excessively.

See our latest analysis for Cadiz

How Does Total Compensation For Scott Slater Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

Our data indicates that Cadiz Inc. has a market capitalization of US$527m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$798k for the year to December 2020. That's a notable increase of 60% on last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at US$300k.

On comparing similar companies from the same industry with market caps ranging from US$200m to US$800m, we found that the median CEO total compensation was US$286k. This suggests that Scott Slater is paid more than the median for the industry. What's more, Scott Slater holds US$387k worth of shares in the company in their own name.

Component	2020	2019	Proportion (2020)
Salary	US$300k	US$300k	38%
Other	US$498k	US$200k	62%
Total Compensation	US$798k	US$500k	100%

On an industry level, roughly 28% of total compensation represents salary and 72% is other remuneration. Cadiz is paying a higher share of its remuneration through a salary in comparison to the overall industry. If non-salary compensation dominates total pay, it's an indicator that the executive's salary is tied to company performance.

Cadiz Inc.'s Growth

Over the past three years, Cadiz Inc. has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 5.3% per year. Its revenue is up 27% over the last year.

We like the look of the strong year-on-year improvement in revenue. Combined with modest EPS growth, we get a good impression of the company. We'd stop short of saying the business performance is amazing, but there are enough positives to justify further research, or even adding the stock to your watch-list. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..

Has Cadiz Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Cadiz Inc. has generated a total shareholder return of 1.8% over three years, so most shareholders wouldn't be too disappointed. Although, there's always room to improve. In light of that, investors might probably want to see an improvement on their returns before they feel generous about increasing the CEO remuneration.

In Summary...

The company's decent performance might have made most shareholders happy, possibly making CEO remuneration the least of the concerns to be discussed in the upcoming AGM. However, any decision to raise CEO pay might be met with some objections from the shareholders given that the CEO is already paid higher than the industry average.

CEO compensation is an important area to keep your eyes on, but we've also need to pay attention to other attributes of the company. We identified 5 warning signs for Cadiz (3 are concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Switching gears from Cadiz, 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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