Avista (NYSE:AVA) May Have Issues Allocating Its Capital

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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. Having said that, from a first glance at Avista (NYSE:AVA) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Avista:

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

0.037 = US$258m ÷ (US$7.7b - US$775m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Therefore, Avista has an ROCE of 3.7%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Integrated Utilities industry average of 4.9%.

Check out our latest analysis for Avista

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Avista compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for Avista .

What Does the ROCE Trend For Avista Tell Us?

We weren't thrilled with the trend because Avista's ROCE has reduced by 26% over the last five years, while the business employed 35% more capital. That being said, Avista raised some capital prior to their latest results being released, so that could partly explain the increase in capital employed. It's unlikely that all of the funds raised have been put to work yet, so as a consequence Avista might not have received a full period of earnings contribution from it.

The Key Takeaway

In summary, Avista is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. And with the stock having returned a mere 1.5% in the last five years to shareholders, you could argue that they're aware of these lackluster trends. Therefore, if you're looking for a multi-bagger, we'd propose looking at other options.

One final note, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Avista (including 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) .

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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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.