Yahoo Finance Are Strong Financial Prospects The Force That Is Driving The Momentum In Standard Motor Products, Inc.'s NYSE:SMP) Stock?
Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 8.3% over the last month. Since the market usually pay for a company’s long-term fundamentals, we decided to study the company’s key performance indicators to see if they could be influencing the market. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Standard Motor Products' ROE today.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.
Check out our latest analysis for Standard Motor Products
How Is ROE Calculated?
Return on equity 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 Standard Motor Products is:
14% = US$85m ÷ US$610m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).
The 'return' is the yearly profit. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.14 in profit.
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 Standard Motor Products' Earnings Growth And 14% ROE
To start with, Standard Motor Products' ROE looks acceptable. Even when compared to the industry average of 15% the company's ROE looks quite decent. This probably goes some way in explaining Standard Motor Products' moderate 18% growth over the past five years amongst other factors.
We then compared Standard Motor Products' net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 10% 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. What is SMP worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether SMP is currently mispriced by the market.
Is Standard Motor Products Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
Standard Motor Products' three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 23% (implying that it retains 77% of its income), which is on the lower side, so it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business.
Besides, Standard Motor Products has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders.
Summary
Overall, we are quite pleased with Standard Motor Products' 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. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. 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.
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