SiteOne Landscape Supply (NYSE:SITE) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 13% over the last three months. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. Particularly, we will be paying attention to SiteOne Landscape Supply’s ROE today.
Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company’s management is utilizing the company’s capital. Put another way, it reveals the company’s success at turning shareholder investments into profits.
View our latest analysis for SiteOne Landscape Supply
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 SiteOne Landscape Supply is:
21% = US$274m ÷ US$1.3b (Based on the trailing twelve months to October 2022).
The ‘return’ is the income the business earned over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.21 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. 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. 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.
SiteOne Landscape Supply’s Earnings Growth And 21% ROE
To begin with, SiteOne Landscape Supply seems to have a respectable ROE. Further, the company’s ROE is similar to the industry average of 22%. Consequently, this likely laid the ground for the impressive net income growth of 38% seen over the past five years by SiteOne Landscape Supply. However, there could also be other drivers behind this growth. Such as – high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that SiteOne Landscape Supply’s growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 17% in the same period, which is great to see.
Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if SiteOne Landscape Supply is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Is SiteOne Landscape Supply Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
SiteOne Landscape Supply doesn’t pay any dividend currently which essentially means that it has been reinvesting all of its profits into the business. This definitely contributes to the high earnings growth number that we discussed above.
Summary
On the whole, we feel that SiteOne Landscape Supply’s 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. With that said, on studying the latest analyst forecasts, we found that while the company has seen growth in its past earnings, analysts expect its future earnings to shrink. 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.
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