Yahoo Finance National Fuel Gas Company's (NYSE:NFG) Recent Stock Performance Looks Decent- Can Strong Fundamentals Be the Reason?
National Fuel Gas' (NYSE:NFG) stock is up by 3.7% over the past month. Given its impressive performance, we decided to study the company's key financial indicators as a company's long-term fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes. Particularly, we will be paying attention to National Fuel Gas' 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 other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.
See our latest analysis for National Fuel Gas
How Is ROE Calculated?
ROE 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 National Fuel Gas is:
14% = US$440m ÷ US$3.2b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).
The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.14 in profit.
What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?
We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. 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.
National Fuel Gas' Earnings Growth And 14% ROE
To begin with, National Fuel Gas seems to have a respectable ROE. Especially when compared to the industry average of 9.9% the company's ROE looks pretty impressive. This probably laid the ground for National Fuel Gas' significant 25% net income growth seen over the past five years. However, there could also be other causes behind this growth. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that National Fuel Gas' growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 9.4% in the same period, which is great to see.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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. Has the market priced in the future outlook for NFG? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Is National Fuel Gas Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
National Fuel Gas' three-year median payout ratio is a pretty moderate 35%, meaning the company retains 65% of its income. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the high growth we discussed above, it looks like National Fuel Gas is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.
Moreover, National Fuel Gas is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 30%.
Conclusion
In total, we are pretty happy with National Fuel Gas' performance. 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. Having said that, the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down, as forecasted in the current analyst estimates. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page for the company.
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.
