Yahoo Finance Is Channel Infrastructure NZ Limited's (NZSE:CHI) Stock On A Downtrend As A Result Of Its Poor Financials?
Channel Infrastructure NZ (NZSE:CHI) has had a rough month with its share price down 5.7%. Given that stock prices are usually driven by a company’s fundamentals over the long term, which in this case look pretty weak, we decided to study the company's key financial indicators. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Channel Infrastructure NZ'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. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.
See our latest analysis for Channel Infrastructure NZ
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 Channel Infrastructure NZ is:
5.5% = NZ$28m ÷ NZ$499m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).
The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each NZ$1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made NZ$0.06 in profit.
What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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 all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.
A Side By Side comparison of Channel Infrastructure NZ's Earnings Growth And 5.5% ROE
On the face of it, Channel Infrastructure NZ's ROE is not much to talk about. A quick further study shows that the company's ROE doesn't compare favorably to the industry average of 15% either. Despite this, surprisingly, Channel Infrastructure NZ saw an exceptional 25% net income growth over the past five years. Therefore, there could be other reasons behind this growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.
As a next step, we compared Channel Infrastructure NZ's net income growth with the industry and were disappointed to see that the company's growth is lower than the industry average growth of 33% 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. Is Channel Infrastructure NZ fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.
Is Channel Infrastructure NZ Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
Channel Infrastructure NZ has very a high three-year median payout ratio of 136% suggesting that the company's shareholders are getting paid from more than just the company's earnings. However, this hasn't hampered its ability to grow as we saw earlier. With that said, it could be worth keeping an eye on the high payout ratio as that's a huge risk. You can see the 2 risks we have identified for Channel Infrastructure NZ by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.
Besides, Channel Infrastructure NZ has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 138%. However, Channel Infrastructure NZ's ROE is predicted to rise to 7.6% despite there being no anticipated change in its payout ratio.
Conclusion
On the whole, Channel Infrastructure NZ's performance is quite a big let-down. Although the company has shown a fair bit of growth in earnings, yet the low ROE and the low rate of reinvestment makes us skeptical about the continuity of that growth, especially when or if the business comes to face any threats. Having said that, the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down, as forecasted in the current analyst estimates. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts 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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com
