Do Its Financials Have Any Role To Play In Driving BQE Water Inc.'s (CVE:BQE) Stock Up Recently?

Most readers would already be aware that BQE Water's (CVE:BQE) stock increased significantly by 38% over the past month. We wonder if and what role the company's financials play in that price change as a company's long-term fundamentals usually dictate market outcomes. Specifically, we decided to study BQE Water's ROE in this article.

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 short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

See our latest analysis for BQE Water

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 BQE Water is:

8.8% = CA$614k ÷ CA$6.9m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2019).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every CA$1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn CA$0.09 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learnt 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. 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.

BQE Water's Earnings Growth And 8.8% ROE

On the face of it, BQE Water's ROE is not much to talk about. Yet, a closer study shows that the company's ROE is similar to the industry average of 8.8%. Particularly, the exceptional 45% net income growth seen by BQE Water over the past five years is pretty remarkable. Considering the moderately low ROE, it is quite possible that there might be some other aspects that are positively influencing the company's earnings growth. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

We then performed a comparison between BQE Water's net income growth with the industry, which revealed that the company's growth is similar to the average industry growth of 40% in the same period.

TSXV:BQE Past Earnings Growth April 26th 2020
TSXV:BQE Past Earnings Growth April 26th 2020

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. 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 BQE Water is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is BQE Water Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Given that BQE Water doesn't pay any dividend to its shareholders, we infer that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits to grow its business.

Summary

Overall, we feel that BQE Water certainly does have some positive factors to consider. With a high rate of reinvestment, albeit at a low ROE, the company has managed to see a considerable growth in its earnings. While we won't completely dismiss the company, what we would do, is try to ascertain how risky the business is to make a more informed decision around the company. You can see the 3 risks we have identified for BQE Water by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.