Yahoo Finance Could The Market Be Wrong About Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) Given Its Attractive Financial Prospects?
With its stock down 7.0% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard Snap-on (NYSE:SNA). But if you pay close attention, you might gather that its strong financials could mean that the stock could potentially see an increase in value in the long-term, given how markets usually reward companies with good financial health. Specifically, we decided to study Snap-on's ROE in this article.
Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.
Check out our latest analysis for Snap-on
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 Snap-on is:
20% = US$826m ÷ US$4.1b (Based on the trailing twelve months to October 2021).
The 'return' is the yearly profit. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.20 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. 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.
Snap-on's Earnings Growth And 20% ROE
To start with, Snap-on's ROE looks acceptable. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 13%. Probably as a result of this, Snap-on was able to see a decent growth of 5.9% over the last five years.
As a next step, we compared Snap-on'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 8.5% 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. Has the market priced in the future outlook for SNA? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Is Snap-on Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Snap-on has a three-year median payout ratio of 33%, which implies that it retains the remaining 67% of its profits. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the decent growth seen by the company, it looks like management is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.
Moreover, Snap-on 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. 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 32%. As a result, Snap-on's ROE is not expected to change by much either, which we inferred from the analyst estimate of 20% for future ROE.
Summary
In total, we are pretty happy with Snap-on's 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 a good amount of growth in its earnings. 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.
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.
