Shandong Weida Machinery (SZSE:002026) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 19% over the last week. We wonder if and what role the company's financials play in that price change as a company's long-term fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes. In this article, we decided to focus on Shandong Weida Machinery's ROE.

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 other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Shandong Weida Machinery is:

6.4% = CN¥225m ÷ CN¥3.5b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that for every CN¥1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated CN¥0.06 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

Shandong Weida Machinery's Earnings Growth And 6.4% ROE

When you first look at it, Shandong Weida Machinery's ROE doesn't look that attractive. However, given that the company's ROE is similar to the average industry ROE of 7.4%, we may spare it some thought. Even so, Shandong Weida Machinery has shown a fairly decent growth in its net income which grew at a rate of 18%. Given the slightly low ROE, it is likely that there could be some other aspects that are driving this growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Shandong Weida Machinery's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 11% in the same period, which is great to see.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. It's important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. 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 Shandong Weida Machinery is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Shandong Weida Machinery Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

In Shandong Weida Machinery's case, its respectable earnings growth can probably be explained by its low three-year median payout ratio of 17% (or a retention ratio of 83%), which suggests that the company is investing most of its profits to grow its business.

Besides, Shandong Weida Machinery has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders.

Summary

Overall, we feel that Shandong Weida Machinery certainly does have some positive factors to consider. Despite its low rate of return, the fact that the company reinvests a very high portion of its profits into its business, no doubt contributed to its high earnings growth. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. 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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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.