Could The Market Be Wrong About Afentra plc (LON:AET) Given Its Attractive Financial Prospects?

With its stock down 17% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard Afentra (LON:AET). But if you pay close attention, you might gather that its strong financials could mean that the stock could potentially see an increase in value in the long-term, given how markets usually reward companies with good financial health. Specifically, we decided to study Afentra’s ROE in this article.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Afentra

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 Afentra is:

33% = US$23m ÷ US$70m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

The ‘return’ is the yearly profit. So, this means that for every £1 of its shareholder’s investments, the company generates a profit of £0.33.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

So far, we’ve learned that ROE is a measure of a company’s profitability. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or “retains”, and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. 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.

Afentra’s Earnings Growth And 33% ROE

First thing first, we like that Afentra has an impressive ROE. Second, a comparison with the average ROE reported by the industry of 9.9% also doesn’t go unnoticed by us. This likely paved the way for the modest 17% net income growth seen by Afentra over the past five years.

We then compared Afentra’s net income growth with the industry and found that the company’s growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 25% in the same 5-year period, which is a bit concerning.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. Doing so will help them establish if the stock’s future looks promising or ominous. If you’re wondering about Afentra’s’s valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

The story continues

Is Afentra Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Afentra doesn’t pay any regular dividends, meaning that all of its profits are being reinvested in the business, which explains the fair bit of earnings growth the company has seen.

Summary

In total, we are pretty happy with Afentra’s performance. In particular, it’s great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a respectable growth in its earnings. That being so, according to the latest industry analyst forecasts, the company’s earnings are expected to shrink in the future. 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.