Returns On Capital At Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA) Paint An Interesting Picture

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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. In light of that, when we looked at Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

What is 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. The formula for this calculation on Ormat Technologies is:

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

0.059 = US$195m ÷ (US$3.5b - US$236m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

So, Ormat Technologies has an ROCE of 5.9%. Even though it's in line with the industry average of 5.9%, it's still a low return by itself.

See our latest analysis for Ormat Technologies

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Ormat Technologies 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 report on analyst forecasts for the company.

So How Is Ormat Technologies' ROCE Trending?

There are better returns on capital out there than what we're seeing at Ormat Technologies. The company has consistently earned 5.9% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 56% 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.

The Bottom Line

As we've seen above, Ormat Technologies' returns on capital haven't increased but it is reinvesting in the business. Yet to long term shareholders the stock has gifted them an incredible 116% return in the last five years, so the market appears to be rosy about its future. Ultimately, if the underlying trends persist, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger going forward.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing Ormat Technologies, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should be aware of.

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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