Yahoo Finance Here's Why We Think Littelfuse (NASDAQ:LFUS) Is Well Worth Watching
For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.
So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Littelfuse (NASDAQ:LFUS). While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.
View our latest analysis for Littelfuse
How Fast Is Littelfuse Growing?
Generally, companies experiencing growth in earnings per share (EPS) should see similar trends in share price. So it makes sense that experienced investors pay close attention to company EPS when undertaking investment research. Impressively, Littelfuse has grown EPS by 31% per year, compound, in the last three years. If growth like this continues on into the future, then shareholders will have plenty to smile about.
One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. The good news is that Littelfuse is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 2.6 percentage points to 22%, over the last year. Both of which are great metrics to check off for potential growth.
In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.
The trick, as an investor, is to find companies that are going to perform well in the future, not just in the past. While crystal balls don't exist, you can check our visualization of consensus analyst forecasts for Littelfuse's future EPS 100% free.
Are Littelfuse Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
We would not expect to see insiders owning a large percentage of a US$6.1b company like Littelfuse. But we do take comfort from the fact that they are investors in the company. Given insiders own a significant chunk of shares, currently valued at US$100m, they have plenty of motivation to push the business to succeed. This would indicate that the goals of shareholders and management are one and the same.
While it's always good to see some strong conviction in the company from insiders through heavy investment, it's also important for shareholders to ask if management compensation policies are reasonable. A brief analysis of the CEO compensation suggests they are. The median total compensation for CEOs of companies similar in size to Littelfuse, with market caps between US$4.0b and US$12b, is around US$8.2m.
The Littelfuse CEO received US$6.2m in compensation for the year ending January 2022. That comes in below the average for similar sized companies and seems pretty reasonable. While the level of CEO compensation shouldn't be the biggest factor in how the company is viewed, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.
Is Littelfuse Worth Keeping An Eye On?
For growth investors, Littelfuse's raw rate of earnings growth is a beacon in the night. If you need more convincing beyond that EPS growth rate, don't forget about the reasonable remuneration and the high insider ownership. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to investing but it definitely makes Littelfuse look rather interesting indeed. Even so, be aware that Littelfuse is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...
There's always the possibility of doing well buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But for those who consider these important metrics, we encourage you to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a free list of them here.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.
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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.
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