Yahoo Finance Could The Market Be Wrong About ARC Resources Ltd. (TSE:ARX) Given Its Attractive Financial Prospects?
It is hard to get excited after looking at ARC Resources' (TSE:ARX) recent performance, when its stock has declined 17% over the past three months. However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. Particularly, we will be paying attention to ARC Resources' 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.
View our latest analysis for ARC Resources
How To Calculate Return On Equity?
The formula for ROE is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for ARC Resources is:
36% = CA$2.2b ÷ CA$6.2b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).
The 'return' is the yearly profit. One way to conceptualize this is that for each CA$1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made CA$0.36 in profit.
Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?
We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don’t share these attributes.
A Side By Side comparison of ARC Resources' Earnings Growth And 36% ROE
To begin with, ARC Resources has a pretty high ROE which is interesting. Additionally, the company's ROE is higher compared to the industry average of 27% which is quite remarkable. So, the substantial 31% net income growth seen by ARC Resources over the past five years isn't overly surprising.
Next, on comparing ARC Resources' net income growth with the industry, we found that the company's reported growth is similar to the industry average growth rate of 34% in the same period.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Has the market priced in the future outlook for ARX? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Is ARC Resources Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
ARC Resources' three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 19%, which is quite low. This implies that the company is retaining 81% of its profits. So it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business and this reflects in its earnings growth number.
Additionally, ARC Resources has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 18%. Regardless, ARC Resources' ROE is speculated to decline to 20% despite there being no anticipated change in its payout ratio.
Conclusion
On the whole, we feel that ARC Resources' performance has been quite good. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a sizeable growth in its earnings. That being so, according to the latest industry analyst forecasts, the company's earnings are expected to shrink in the future. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page for the company.
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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.
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