Most readers would already be aware that Lifestyle Communities’ (ASX:LIC) stock increased significantly by 14% over the past three months. 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 Lifestyle Communities’ ROE today.
Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company’s management is utilizing the company’s capital. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder’s equity.
View our latest analysis for Lifestyle Communities
How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?
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 Lifestyle Communities is:
20% = AU$89m ÷ AU$453m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).
The ‘return’ is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that for every A$1 worth of shareholders’ equity, the company generated A$0.20 in profit.
What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?
We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company’s future earnings. 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 don’t share these attributes.
Lifestyle Communities’ Earnings Growth And 20% ROE
To begin with, Lifestyle Communities seems to have a respectable ROE. Further, the company’s ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 7.8%. Probably as a result of this, Lifestyle Communities was able to see an impressive net income growth of 21% 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.
We then compared Lifestyle Communities’ 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 4.8% in the same period.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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. 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 Lifestyle Communities is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Is Lifestyle Communities Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Lifestyle Communities’ ‘ three-year median payout ratio is on the lower side at 12% implying that it is retaining a higher percentage (88%) of its profits. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business as evidenced by the growth seen by the company.
Moreover, Lifestyle Communities 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. Upon studying the latest analysts’ consensus data, we found that the company’s future payout ratio is expected to rise to 20% over the next three years. Despite the higher expected payout ratio, the company’s ROE is not expected to change by much.
Summary
On the whole, we feel that Lifestyle Communities’ 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. 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.
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Find out whether Lifestyle Communities is potentially over or undervalued by checking out our comprehensive analysis, which includes fair value estimates, risks and warnings, dividends, insider transactions and financial health.
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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.
