Are Strong Financials Guiding The Market?

Weng Fine Art’s (FRA:WFA) stock is up by a considerable 13% over the past month. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. In this article, we decided to focus on Weng Fine Art’s ROE.

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 Weng Fine Art

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

Return on equity can be calculated by using the formula:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders’ Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Weng Fine Art is:

24% = €4.3m ÷ €18m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).

The ‘return’ is the income the business earned over the last year. That means that for every €1 worth of shareholders’ equity, the company generated €0.24 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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. 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.

A Side By Side comparison of Weng Fine Art’s Earnings Growth And 24% ROE

To begin with, Weng Fine Art has a pretty high ROE which is interesting. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 15% the company’s ROE is quite impressive. So, the substantial 30% net income growth seen by Weng Fine Art over the past five years isn’t overly surprising.

As a next step, we compared Weng Fine Art’s net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 23%.

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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. 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 Weng Fine Art is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Weng Fine Art Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Weng Fine Art has a really low three-year median payout ratio of 16%, meaning that it has the remaining 84% left over to reinvest into its business. So it looks like Weng Fine Art is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business, which shows in its earnings growth.

Additionally, Weng Fine Art has paid dividends over a period of nine years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that Weng Fine Art’s performance has been quite good. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. If the company continues to grow its earnings the way it has, that could have a positive impact on its share price given how earnings per share influence long-term share prices. Not to forget, share price outcomes are also dependent on the potential risks a company may face. So it is important for investors to be aware of the risks involved in the business. Our risks dashboard would have the 3 risks we have identified for Weng Fine Art.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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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