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It is hard to get excited after looking at Comstock Holding Companies' (NASDAQ:CHCI) recent performance, when its stock has declined 11% over the past month. 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. In this article, we decided to focus on Comstock Holding Companies' 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. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.
See our latest analysis for Comstock Holding Companies
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 Comstock Holding Companies is:
15% = US$6.1m ÷ US$42m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).
The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.15 in profit.
Why Is ROE Important For 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. 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 Comstock Holding Companies' Earnings Growth And 15% ROE
To begin with, Comstock Holding Companies seems to have a respectable ROE. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 8.0%. This probably laid the ground for Comstock Holding Companies' moderate 18% net income growth seen over the past five years.
We then compared Comstock Holding Companies' net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 5.6% in the same 5-year period.
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. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. 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 Comstock Holding Companies is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.