Auction Technology Group (LON:ATG) Shareholders Will Want The ROCE Trajectory To Continue
To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. So on that note, Auction Technology Group (LON:ATG) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Auction Technology Group:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.022 = UK£17m ÷ (UK£807m - UK£51m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).
Therefore, Auction Technology Group has an ROCE of 2.2%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Online Retail industry average of 6.6%.
See our latest analysis for Auction Technology Group
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Auction Technology Group compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Auction Technology Group.
What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us
The fact that Auction Technology Group is now generating some pre-tax profits from its prior investments is very encouraging. Shareholders would no doubt be pleased with this because the business was loss-making five years ago but is is now generating 2.2% on its capital. And unsurprisingly, like most companies trying to break into the black, Auction Technology Group is utilizing 2,258% more capital than it was five years ago. We like this trend, because it tells us the company has profitable reinvestment opportunities available to it, and if it continues going forward that can lead to a multi-bagger performance.
On a related note, the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets has decreased to 6.3%, which basically reduces it's funding from the likes of short-term creditors or suppliers. So shareholders would be pleased that the growth in returns has mostly come from underlying business performance.
In Conclusion...
Overall, Auction Technology 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. Astute investors may have an opportunity here because the stock has declined 35% in the last year. With that in mind, we believe the promising trends warrant this stock for further investigation.
Before jumping to any conclusions though, we need to know what value we're getting for the current share price. That's where you can check out our FREE intrinsic value estimation that compares the share price and estimated value.
While Auction Technology Group isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.
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.
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