Is Enghouse Systems Limited's (TSE:ENGH) Recent Stock Performance Tethered To Its Strong Fundamentals?

Simply Wall St · 09/15/2023 10:37

Most readers would already be aware that Enghouse Systems' (TSE:ENGH) stock increased significantly by 9.6% over the past month. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. In this article, we decided to focus on Enghouse Systems' ROE.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors’ money. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

View our latest analysis for Enghouse Systems

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

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 Enghouse Systems is:

16% = CA$84m ÷ CA$530m (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2023).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. Another way to think of that is that for every CA$1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn CA$0.16 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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.

Enghouse Systems' Earnings Growth And 16% ROE

To start with, Enghouse Systems' ROE looks acceptable. Even when compared to the industry average of 13% the company's ROE looks quite decent. This probably goes some way in explaining Enghouse Systems' moderate 7.8% growth over the past five years amongst other factors.

Next, on comparing Enghouse Systems' net income growth with the industry, we found that the company's reported growth is similar to the industry average growth rate of 8.5% over the last few years.

past-earnings-growth
TSX:ENGH Past Earnings Growth September 15th 2023

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. 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. Has the market priced in the future outlook for ENGH? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.

Is Enghouse Systems Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Enghouse Systems has a three-year median payout ratio of 39%, which implies that it retains the remaining 61% of its profits. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the decent growth seen by the company, it looks like management is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.

Additionally, Enghouse Systems has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders.

Summary

On the whole, we feel that Enghouse Systems' performance has been quite good. 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. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.