It is hard to get excited after looking at HEICO's (NYSE:HEI) recent performance, when its stock has declined 6.2% over the past month. 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 HEICO's ROE today.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

Check out our latest analysis for HEICO

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 HEICO is:

13% = US$364m ÷ US$2.7b (Based on the trailing twelve months to April 2022).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.13.

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 all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

HEICO's Earnings Growth And 13% ROE

To start with, HEICO's ROE looks acceptable. On comparing with the average industry ROE of 10% the company's ROE looks pretty remarkable. Probably as a result of this, HEICO was able to see a decent growth of 9.8% over the last five years.

As a next step, we compared HEICO's net income growth with the industry, and pleasingly, we found that the growth seen by the company is higher than the average industry growth of 2.9%.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. 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. Has the market priced in the future outlook for HEI? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.

Is HEICO Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

HEICO's three-year median payout ratio to shareholders is 6.9% (implying that it retains 93% of its income), which is on the lower side, so it seems like the management is reinvesting profits heavily to grow its business.

Additionally, HEICO 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. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 6.7%. Accordingly, forecasts suggest that HEICO's future ROE will be 16% which is again, similar to the current ROE.

Summary

On the whole, we feel that HEICO's performance has been quite good. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. Unsurprisingly, this has led to an impressive earnings growth. That being so, the latest analyst forecasts show that the company will continue to see an expansion in its earnings. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.