Yahoo Finance The Return Trends At PlayAGS (NYSE:AGS) Look Promising
To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing 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. So when we looked at PlayAGS (NYSE:AGS) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. To calculate this metric for PlayAGS, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.043 = US$27m ÷ (US$686m - US$64m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).
So, PlayAGS has an ROCE of 4.3%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Hospitality industry average of 10%.
View our latest analysis for PlayAGS
Above you can see how the current ROCE for PlayAGS compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for PlayAGS.
What Can We Tell From PlayAGS' ROCE Trend?
While the ROCE isn't as high as some other companies out there, it's great to see it's on the up. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 1,923% whilst employing roughly the same amount of capital. So it's likely that the business is now reaping the full benefits of its past investments, since the capital employed hasn't changed considerably. The company is doing well in that sense, and it's worth investigating what the management team has planned for long term growth prospects.
What We Can Learn From PlayAGS' ROCE
To bring it all together, PlayAGS has done well to increase the returns it's generating from its capital employed. And since the stock has fallen 28% over the last three years, there might be an opportunity here. So researching this company further and determining whether or not these trends will continue seems justified.
On a final note, we've found 1 warning sign for PlayAGS that we think 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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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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