Is PotlatchDeltic Corporation's(NASDAQ:PCH) Recent Stock Performance Tethered To Its Strong Fundamentals?
PotlatchDeltic (NASDAQ:PCH) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 17% over the last three months. 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 PotlatchDeltic's ROE today.
ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.
Check out our latest analysis for PotlatchDeltic
How Is ROE Calculated?
The formula for ROE is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for PotlatchDeltic is:
13% = US$167m ÷ US$1.3b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).
The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.13 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. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don’t share these attributes.
PotlatchDeltic's Earnings Growth And 13% ROE
At first glance, PotlatchDeltic seems to have a decent ROE. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 5.0% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. This certainly adds some context to PotlatchDeltic's exceptional 22% net income growth seen over the past five years. However, there could also be other causes behind this growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.
As a next step, we compared PotlatchDeltic'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 11%.
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. If you're wondering about PotlatchDeltic's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.
Is PotlatchDeltic Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?
PotlatchDeltic seems to be paying out most of its income as dividends judging by its three-year median payout ratio of 57%, meaning the company retains only 43% of its income. However, this is typical for REITs as they are often required by law to distribute most of their earnings. In spite of this, the company was able to grow its earnings significantly, as we saw above.
Moreover, PotlatchDeltic 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. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company is expected to rise to 86% over the next three years.
Conclusion
Overall, we are quite pleased with PotlatchDeltic's performance. In particular, its high ROE is quite noteworthy and also the probable explanation behind its considerable earnings growth. Yet, the company is retaining a small portion of its profits. Which means that the company has been able to grow its earnings in spite of it, so that's not too bad. With that said, on studying the latest analyst forecasts, we found that while the company has seen growth in its past earnings, analysts expect its future earnings to shrink. 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.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
