Yahoo Finance Does The Market Have A Low Tolerance For Lovisa Holdings Limited's (ASX:LOV) Mixed Fundamentals?
It is hard to get excited after looking at Lovisa Holdings' (ASX:LOV) recent performance, when its stock has declined 26% over the past three months. It seems that the market might have completely ignored the positive aspects of the company's fundamentals and decided to weigh-in more on the negative aspects. Fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes so it makes sense to study the company's financials. In this article, we decided to focus on Lovisa Holdings' ROE.
Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.
See our latest analysis for Lovisa Holdings
How Is ROE Calculated?
The formula for return on equity is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Lovisa Holdings is:
66% = AU$41m ÷ AU$63m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).
The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every A$1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of A$0.66.
What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?
So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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 Lovisa Holdings' Earnings Growth And 66% ROE
First thing first, we like that Lovisa Holdings has an impressive ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 21% the company's ROE is quite impressive. For this reason, Lovisa Holdings' five year net income decline of 6.4% raises the question as to why the high ROE didn't translate into earnings growth. So, there might be some other aspects that could explain this. Such as, the company pays out a huge portion of its earnings as dividends, or is faced with competitive pressures.
However, when we compared Lovisa Holdings' growth with the industry we found that while the company's earnings have been shrinking, the industry has seen an earnings growth of 18% in the same period. This is quite worrisome.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. 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 Lovisa Holdings is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Is Lovisa Holdings Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
With a three-year median payout ratio as high as 142%,Lovisa Holdings' shrinking earnings don't come as a surprise as the company is paying a dividend which is beyond its means. Paying a dividend beyond their means is usually not viable over the long term. Our risks dashboard should have the 2 risks we have identified for Lovisa Holdings.
In addition, Lovisa Holdings has been paying dividends over a period of seven years suggesting that keeping up dividend payments is preferred by the management even though earnings have been in decline. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 72% over the next three years. As a result, the expected drop in Lovisa Holdings' payout ratio explains the anticipated rise in the company's future ROE to 91%, over the same period.
Conclusion
On the whole, we feel that the performance shown by Lovisa Holdings can be open to many interpretations. Despite the high ROE, the company has a disappointing earnings growth number, due to its poor rate of reinvestment into its business. 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. 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.
