If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. With that in mind, the ROCE of Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE:MGY) looks great, so lets see what the trend can tell us.

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. The formula for this calculation on Magnolia Oil & Gas is:

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

0.21 = US$526m ÷ (US$2.8b - US$282m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

Therefore, Magnolia Oil & Gas has an ROCE of 21%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 11% earned by companies in a similar industry.

In the above chart we have measured Magnolia Oil & Gas' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free analyst report for Magnolia Oil & Gas .

How Are Returns Trending?

You'd find it hard not to be impressed with the ROCE trend at Magnolia Oil & Gas. The data shows that returns on capital have increased by 241% over the trailing five years. That's not bad because this tells for every dollar invested (capital employed), the company is increasing the amount earned from that dollar. In regards to capital employed, Magnolia Oil & Gas appears to been achieving more with less, since the business is using 24% less capital to run its operation. If this trend continues, the business might be getting more efficient but it's shrinking in terms of total assets.

Our Take On Magnolia Oil & Gas' ROCE

In the end, Magnolia Oil & Gas has proven it's capital allocation skills are good with those higher returns from less amount of capital. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

Magnolia Oil & Gas does have some risks though, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Magnolia Oil & Gas that you might be interested in.

If you'd like to see other companies earning high returns, check out our free list of companies earning high returns with solid balance sheets 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.