Slowing Rates Of Return At NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) Leave Little Room For Excitement

If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. However, after investigating NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for NorthWestern, this is the formula:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.04 = US$243m ÷ (US$6.5b - US$386m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2021).

Thus, NorthWestern has an ROCE of 4.0%. On its own, that's a low figure but it's around the 4.7% average generated by the Integrated Utilities industry.

Check out our latest analysis for NorthWestern

In the above chart we have measured NorthWestern's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering NorthWestern here for free.

What Can We Tell From NorthWestern's ROCE Trend?

The returns on capital haven't changed much for NorthWestern in recent years. The company has employed 29% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 4.0%. This poor ROCE doesn't inspire confidence right now, and with the increase in capital employed, it's evident that the business isn't deploying the funds into high return investments.

The Key Takeaway

In conclusion, NorthWestern has been investing more capital into the business, but returns on that capital haven't increased. And with the stock having returned a mere 40% in the last five years to shareholders, you could argue that they're aware of these lackluster trends. As a result, if you're hunting for a multi-bagger, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.

On a final note, we found 2 warning signs for NorthWestern (1 is potentially serious) you should be aware of.

While NorthWestern may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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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