Momentum Metropolitan Holdings' (JSE:MTM) stock is up by 3.0% over the past month. Given that stock prices are usually aligned with a company's financial performance in the long-term, we decided to investigate if the company's decent financials had a hand to play in the recent price move. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Momentum Metropolitan Holdings' 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. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

View our latest analysis for Momentum Metropolitan Holdings

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 Momentum Metropolitan Holdings is:

15% = R4.5b ÷ R29b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. Another way to think of that is that for every ZAR1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn ZAR0.15 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. 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. 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.

Momentum Metropolitan Holdings' Earnings Growth And 15% ROE

When you first look at it, Momentum Metropolitan Holdings' ROE doesn't look that attractive. Yet, a closer study shows that the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 14%. Particularly, the exceptional 33% net income growth seen by Momentum Metropolitan Holdings over the past five years is pretty remarkable. Given the slightly low ROE, it is likely that there could be some other aspects that are driving this growth. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Momentum Metropolitan Holdings' growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 5.4% 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. 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. If you're wondering about Momentum Metropolitan Holdings''s valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Momentum Metropolitan Holdings Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

The three-year median payout ratio for Momentum Metropolitan Holdings is 39%, which is moderately low. The company is retaining the remaining 61%. By the looks of it, the dividend is well covered and Momentum Metropolitan Holdings is reinvesting its profits efficiently as evidenced by its exceptional growth which we discussed above.

Additionally, Momentum Metropolitan Holdings 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 over the next three years is expected to be approximately 42%. Therefore, the company's future ROE is also not expected to change by much with analysts predicting an ROE of 14%.

Conclusion

In total, it does look like Momentum Metropolitan Holdings 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. Having said that, the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down, as forecasted in the current analyst estimates. 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.