Ormat Technologies, Inc.'s (NYSE:ORA) Financials Are Too Obscure To Link With Current Share Price Momentum: What's In Store For the Stock?

Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 16% over the last month. 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. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Ormat Technologies' ROE today.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

Check out our latest analysis for Ormat Technologies

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 Ormat Technologies is:

3.8% = US$76m ÷ US$2.0b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.04 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With 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.

Ormat Technologies' Earnings Growth And 3.8% ROE

As you can see, Ormat Technologies' ROE looks pretty weak. Further, we noted that the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 4.0%. Given the low ROE Ormat Technologies' five year net income decline of 11% is not surprising.

Furthermore, even when compared to the industry, which has been shrinking its earnings at a rate 1.6% in the same period, we found that Ormat Technologies' performance is pretty disappointing, as it suggests that the company has been shrunk its earnings at a rate faster than the industry.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is Ormat Technologies fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Ormat Technologies Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

In spite of a normal three-year median payout ratio of 29% (that is, a retention ratio of 71%), the fact that Ormat Technologies' earnings have shrunk is quite puzzling. It looks like there might be some other reasons to explain the lack in that respect. For example, the business could be in decline.

Moreover, Ormat Technologies has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more suggesting that management must have perceived that the shareholders prefer dividends over earnings growth. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 26%. However, Ormat Technologies' ROE is predicted to rise to 5.7% despite there being no anticipated change in its payout ratio.

Conclusion

In total, we're a bit ambivalent about Ormat Technologies' performance. Even though it appears to be retaining most of its profits, given the low ROE, investors may not be benefitting from all that reinvestment after all. The low earnings growth suggests our theory correct. Having said that, looking at current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings growth rate is expected to see a huge improvement. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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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.