The Returns At NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) Aren't Growing

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount 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. In light of that, when we looked at NorthWestern (NASDAQ:NWE) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. The formula for this calculation on NorthWestern is:

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

0.042 = US$265m ÷ (US$6.7b - US$408m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).

Therefore, NorthWestern has an ROCE of 4.2%. In absolute terms, that's a low return but it's around the Integrated Utilities industry average of 4.8%.

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're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

So How Is NorthWestern's ROCE Trending?

In terms of NorthWestern's historical ROCE trend, it doesn't exactly demand attention. The company has consistently earned 4.2% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 29% in that time. Given the company has increased the amount of capital employed, it appears the investments that have been made simply don't provide a high return on capital.

In Conclusion...

In summary, NorthWestern has simply been reinvesting capital and generating the same low rate of return as before. Unsurprisingly, the stock has only gained 25% over the last five years, which potentially indicates that investors are accounting for this going forward. As a result, if you're hunting for a multi-bagger, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.

Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for NorthWestern (of which 1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you should know about.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

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.

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