Is Bel Fuse Inc.’s (NASDAQ:BELF.A) Latest Stock Performance A Reflection Of Its Financial Health?
Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELF.A) has had a great run on the stock market with its stock up by a significant 12% over the last month. Given the company’s impressive performance, we decided to study its financial indicators more closely as a company’s financial health over the long-term usually dictates market outcomes. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Bel Fuse’s ROE today.
Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company’s shareholders.
Check out our latest analysis for Bel Fuse
How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?
The formula for ROE is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders’ Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Bel Fuse is:
20% = US$47m ÷ US$236m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).
The ‘return’ is the income the business earned over the last year. 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?
Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that do not share these attributes.
Bel Fuse’s Earnings Growth And 20% ROE
To start with, Bel Fuse’s ROE looks acceptable. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 14% the company’s ROE looks pretty remarkable. This certainly adds some context to Bel Fuse’s exceptional 44% net income growth seen over the past five years. We believe that there might also be other aspects that are positively influencing the company’s earnings growth. For example, it is possible that the company’s management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.
As a next step, we compared Bel Fuse’s net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 17%.
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. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. 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 Bel Fuse is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Is Bel Fuse Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?
Bel Fuse has a really low three-year median payout ratio of 12%, meaning that it has the remaining 88% left over to reinvest into its business. So it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business and this reflects in its earnings growth number.
Moreover, Bel Fuse 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.
Summary
In total, we are pretty happy with Bel Fuse’s performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. Having said that, on studying current analyst estimates, we were concerned to see that while the company has grown its earnings in the past, analysts expect its earnings to shrink in the future. 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.
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