Yahoo Finance Information Services Corporation's (TSE:ISV) Stock's On An Uptrend: Are Strong Financials Guiding The Market?
Most readers would already be aware that Information Services' (TSE:ISV) stock increased significantly by 5.7% over the past month. Given the company's impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company's financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Information Services' 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 Information Services
How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?
The formula for return on equity is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Information Services is:
22% = CA$30m ÷ CA$133m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).
The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every CA$1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn CA$0.22 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. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. 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 Information Services' Earnings Growth And 22% ROE
To begin with, Information Services has a pretty high ROE which is interesting. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 11% the company's ROE is quite impressive. This likely paved the way for the modest 5.5% net income growth seen by Information Services over the past five years. growth
We then performed a comparison between Information Services' net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 4.8% in the same period.
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. What is ISV worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether ISV is currently mispriced by the market.
Is Information Services Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Information Services has a significant three-year median payout ratio of 70%, meaning that it is left with only 30% to reinvest into its business. This implies that the company has been able to achieve decent earnings growth despite returning most of its profits to shareholders.
Moreover, Information Services is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of eight years of paying a dividend.
Summary
Overall, we are quite pleased with Information Services' performance. In particular, its high ROE is quite noteworthy and also the probable explanation behind its considerable earnings growth. Yet, the company is retaining a small portion of its profits. Which means that the company has been able to grow its earnings in spite of it, so that's not too bad. We also studied the latest analyst forecasts and found that the company's earnings growth is expected be similar to its current growth rate. 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.
