Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) has had a rough month with its share price down 11%. However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Louisiana-Pacific's ROE today.
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. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.
See our latest analysis for Louisiana-Pacific
How Is ROE Calculated?
The formula for ROE is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Louisiana-Pacific is:
25% = US$417m ÷ US$1.7b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).
The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn $0.25 in profit.
What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?
Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. 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. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don’t share these attributes.
A Side By Side comparison of Louisiana-Pacific's Earnings Growth And 25% ROE
Firstly, we acknowledge that Louisiana-Pacific has a significantly high ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 8.5% the company's ROE is quite impressive. Probably as a result of this, Louisiana-Pacific was able to see a decent net income growth of 5.0% over the last five years.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Louisiana-Pacific's reported growth was lower than the industry growth of 15% over the last few years, which is not something we like to see.
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. 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 Louisiana-Pacific is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.
Is Louisiana-Pacific Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Louisiana-Pacific's three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 14% (implying that it retains 86% of its income), which is on the lower side, so it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business.
Besides, Louisiana-Pacific has been paying dividends over a period of seven years. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders. Looking at the current analyst consensus data, we can see that the company's future payout ratio is expected to rise to 18% over the next three years. Accordingly, the expected increase in the payout ratio explains the expected decline in the company's ROE to 18%, over the same period.
Conclusion
Overall, we are quite pleased with Louisiana-Pacific'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, a study of the latest analyst forecasts show that the company is expected to see a slowdown in its future earnings growth. 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.
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