If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. However, after investigating U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for U.S. Physical Therapy:

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

0.073 = US$67m ÷ (US$1.0b - US$103m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

Thus, U.S. Physical Therapy has an ROCE of 7.3%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Healthcare industry average of 11%.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for U.S. Physical Therapy compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free analyst report for U.S. Physical Therapy .

The Trend Of ROCE

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at U.S. Physical Therapy doesn't inspire confidence. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 14%, but since then they've fallen to 7.3%. However it looks like U.S. Physical Therapy might be reinvesting for long term growth because while capital employed has increased, the company's sales haven't changed much in the last 12 months. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

The Bottom Line On U.S. Physical Therapy's ROCE

In summary, U.S. Physical Therapy is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. Additionally, the stock's total return to shareholders over the last five years has been flat, which isn't too surprising. All in all, the inherent trends aren't typical of multi-baggers, so if that's what you're after, we think you might have more luck elsewhere.

If you want to continue researching U.S. Physical Therapy, you might be interested to know about the 5 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.

While U.S. Physical Therapy may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.