It is hard to get excited after looking at New Hope's (ASX:NHC) recent performance, when its stock has declined 8.1% over the past month. However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. Particularly, we will be paying attention to New Hope's 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.

See our latest analysis for New Hope

How Is ROE Calculated?

ROE 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 New Hope is:

19% = AU$476m ÷ AU$2.5b (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2024).

The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every A$1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn A$0.19 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

New Hope's Earnings Growth And 19% ROE

At first glance, New Hope seems to have a decent ROE. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 15%. Probably as a result of this, New Hope was able to see an impressive net income growth of 40% over the last five years. However, there could also be other causes behind this growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

Next, on comparing New Hope's net income growth with the industry, we found that the company's reported growth is similar to the industry average growth rate of 36% over the last few years.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. What is NHC worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether NHC is currently mispriced by the market.

Is New Hope Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

The three-year median payout ratio for New Hope is 43%, which is moderately low. The company is retaining the remaining 57%. By the looks of it, the dividend is well covered and New Hope is reinvesting its profits efficiently as evidenced by its exceptional growth which we discussed above.

Additionally, New Hope 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. Upon studying the latest analysts' consensus data, we found that the company's future payout ratio is expected to rise to 61% over the next three years. Despite the higher expected payout ratio, the company's ROE is not expected to change by much.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that New Hope's 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. Having said that, the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down, as forecasted in the current analyst estimates. 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.

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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.