Most readers would already be aware that Valero Energy’s (NYSE:VLO) stock increased significantly by 6.8% over the past week. Given that the market rewards strong financials in the long-term, we wonder if that is the case in this instance. Specifically, we decided to study Valero Energy’s ROE in this article.
Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company’s management is utilizing the company’s capital. Put another way, it reveals the company’s success at turning shareholder investments into profits.
See our latest analysis for Valero Energy
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 Valero Energy is:
50% = US$12b ÷ US$24b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).
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 $0.50 in profit.
What Is The Relationship Between ROE And 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. 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.
Valero Energy’s Earnings Growth And 50% ROE
Firstly, we acknowledge that Valero Energy has a significantly high ROE. Secondly, even when compared to the industry average of 33% the company’s ROE is quite impressive. This probably laid the groundwork for Valero Energy’s moderate 11% net income growth seen over the past five years.
Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Valero Energy’s growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 8.0% in the same period, which is great to see.
The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. Is Valero Energy fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.
Is Valero Energy Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
Valero Energy has a low three-year median payout ratio of 17%, meaning that the company retains the remaining 83% of its profits. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business.
Additionally, Valero Energy has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years which means that the company is pretty serious about sharing its profits with shareholders. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company is expected to rise to 41% over the next three years. Accordingly, the expected increase in the payout ratio explains the expected decline in the company’s ROE to 11%, over the same period.
Summary
In total, we are pretty happy with Valero Energy’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 sizeable growth in its earnings. Having said that, on studying current analyst estimates, we were concerned to see that while the company has grown its earnings in the past, analysts expect its earnings to shrink in the future. 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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