Golden Ocean Group (NASDAQ:GOGL) Is Looking To Continue Growing Its Returns On Capital

Simply Wall St
·3 min read

There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Golden Ocean Group's (NASDAQ:GOGL) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. The formula for this calculation on Golden Ocean Group is:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.16 = US$508m ÷ (US$3.5b - US$248m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).

Thus, Golden Ocean Group has an ROCE of 16%. That's a relatively normal return on capital, and it's around the 15% generated by the Shipping industry.

View our latest analysis for Golden Ocean Group

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Above you can see how the current ROCE for Golden Ocean Group compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

So How Is Golden Ocean Group's ROCE Trending?

Golden Ocean Group has recently broken into profitability so their prior investments seem to be paying off. Shareholders would no doubt be pleased with this because the business was loss-making five years ago but is is now generating 16% on its capital. Not only that, but the company is utilizing 38% more capital than before, but that's to be expected from a company trying to break into profitability. This can tell us that the company has plenty of reinvestment opportunities that are able to generate higher returns.

Our Take On Golden Ocean Group's ROCE

Overall, Golden Ocean Group gets a big tick from us thanks in most part to the fact that it is now profitable and is reinvesting in its business. Since the stock has returned a staggering 167% to shareholders over the last five years, it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.

Golden Ocean Group does come with some risks though, we found 4 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 2 of those are concerning...

While Golden Ocean Group may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.