Select Water Solutions' (NYSE:WTTR) stock is up by a considerable 30% over the past three months. As most would know, fundamentals are what usually guide market price movements over the long-term, so we decided to look at the company's key financial indicators today to determine if they have any role to play in the recent price movement. In this article, we decided to focus on Select Water Solutions' ROE.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

How To 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 Select Water Solutions is:

7.8% = US$69m ÷ US$888m (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.08 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. 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 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.

Select Water Solutions' Earnings Growth And 7.8% ROE

At first glance, Select Water Solutions' ROE doesn't look very promising. We then compared the company's ROE to the broader industry and were disappointed to see that the ROE is lower than the industry average of 13%. However, we we're pleasantly surprised to see that Select Water Solutions grew its net income at a significant rate of 44% in the last five years. So, there might be other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.

Next, on comparing Select Water Solutions' net income growth with the industry, we found that the company's reported growth is similar to the industry average growth rate of 45% over the last few years.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. What is WTTR worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether WTTR is currently mispriced by the market.

Is Select Water Solutions Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?

Select Water Solutions' three-year median payout ratio is a pretty moderate 30%, meaning the company retains 70% of its income. By the looks of it, the dividend is well covered and Select Water Solutions is reinvesting its profits efficiently as evidenced by its exceptional growth which we discussed above.

Along with seeing a growth in earnings, Select Water Solutions only recently started paying dividends. Its quite possible that the company was looking to impress its shareholders. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company is expected to drop to 18% over the next three years. Accordingly, the expected drop in the payout ratio explains the expected increase in the company's ROE to 16%, over the same period.

Conclusion

In total, it does look like Select Water Solutions has some positive aspects to its business. With a high rate of reinvestment, albeit at a low ROE, the company has managed to see a considerable 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.