Advertisement
New Zealand markets closed
  • NZX 50

    12,105.29
    +94.63 (+0.79%)
     
  • NZD/USD

    0.5960
    -0.0046 (-0.76%)
     
  • ALL ORDS

    8,153.70
    +80.10 (+0.99%)
     
  • OIL

    81.54
    +0.19 (+0.23%)
     
  • GOLD

    2,214.80
    +2.10 (+0.09%)
     

Dexterra Group Inc.'s (TSE:DXT) Stock Going Strong But Fundamentals Look Weak: What Implications Could This Have On The Stock?

Most readers would already be aware that Dexterra Group's (TSE:DXT) stock increased significantly by 6.9% over the past month. We, however wanted to have a closer look at its key financial indicators as the markets usually pay for long-term fundamentals, and in this case, they don't look very promising. In this article, we decided to focus on Dexterra Group'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. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

Check out our latest analysis for Dexterra Group

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for return on equity is:

ADVERTISEMENT

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Dexterra Group is:

3.7% = CA$11m ÷ CA$295m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every CA$1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of CA$0.04.

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. 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 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 Dexterra Group's Earnings Growth And 3.7% ROE

It is hard to argue that Dexterra Group's ROE is much good in and of itself. Even compared to the average industry ROE of 9.6%, the company's ROE is quite dismal. Given the circumstances, the significant decline in net income by 3.3% seen by Dexterra Group over the last five years is not surprising. However, there could also be other factors causing the earnings to decline. For instance, the company has a very high payout ratio, or is faced with competitive pressures.

However, when we compared Dexterra Group's growth with the industry we found that while the company's earnings have been shrinking, the industry has seen an earnings growth of 8.5% in the same period. This is quite worrisome.

past-earnings-growth
past-earnings-growth

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. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is Dexterra Group fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Dexterra Group Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Dexterra Group's declining earnings is not surprising given how the company is spending most of its profits in paying dividends, judging by its three-year median payout ratio of 51% (or a retention ratio of 49%). The business is only left with a small pool of capital to reinvest - A vicious cycle that doesn't benefit the company in the long-run. Our risks dashboard should have the 2 risks we have identified for Dexterra Group.

In addition, Dexterra Group only recently started paying a dividend so the management probably decided the shareholders prefer dividends even though earnings have been shrinking. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company is expected to keep paying out approximately 53% of its profits over the next three years.

Conclusion

In total, we would have a hard think before deciding on any investment action concerning Dexterra Group. The company has seen a lack of earnings growth as a result of retaining very little profits and whatever little it does retain, is being reinvested at a very low rate of return. That being so, the latest industry analyst forecasts show that the analysts are expecting to see a huge improvement in the company's earnings growth rate. 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.

Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here