Franklin Electric's (NASDAQ:FELE) stock up by 7.2% over the past three months. Since the market usually pay for a company's long-term financial health, we decided to study the company's fundamentals to see if they could be influencing the market. In this article, we decided to focus on Franklin Electric's ROE.

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.

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 Franklin Electric is:

15% = US$186m ÷ US$1.3b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.15 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. 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. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

Franklin Electric's Earnings Growth And 15% ROE

To begin with, Franklin Electric seems to have a respectable ROE. Further, the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 15%. This probably goes some way in explaining Franklin Electric's moderate 17% growth over the past five years amongst other factors.

As a next step, we compared Franklin Electric's net income growth with the industry and found that the company has a similar growth figure when compared with the industry average growth rate of 14% in the same period.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is FELE fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is Franklin Electric Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Franklin Electric's three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 21% (implying that it retains 79% of its income), which is on the lower side, so it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business.

Additionally, Franklin Electric has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 25%.

Conclusion

Overall, we are quite pleased with Franklin Electric's performance. Specifically, we like that the company is reinvesting a huge chunk of its profits at a high rate of return. This of course has caused the company to see substantial growth in its earnings. That being so, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. 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.

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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.