If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So when we looked at Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. The formula for this calculation on Hovnanian Enterprises is:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.13 = US$253m ÷ (US$2.4b - US$474m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2023).

So, Hovnanian Enterprises has an ROCE of 13%. That's a pretty standard return and it's in line with the industry average of 13%.

View our latest analysis for Hovnanian Enterprises

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Hovnanian Enterprises' ROCE against it's prior returns. If you want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of Hovnanian Enterprises, check out these free graphs here.

How Are Returns Trending?

Investors would be pleased with what's happening at Hovnanian Enterprises. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 13%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 32% more capital is being employed now too. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at Hovnanian Enterprises thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.

The Key Takeaway

A company that is growing its returns on capital and can consistently reinvest in itself is a highly sought after trait, and that's what Hovnanian Enterprises has. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing Hovnanian Enterprises, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should be aware of.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

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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.