Bill Weber became the CEO of The KeyW Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:KEYW) in 2015. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.

See our latest analysis for KeyW Holding

How Does Bill Weber's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, The KeyW Holding Corporation has a market capitalization of US$391m, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth US$689k. (This is based on the year to December 2017). While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$450k. We examined companies with market caps from US$200m to US$800m, and discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$1.6m.

Most shareholders would consider it a positive that Bill Weber takes less total compensation than the CEOs of most similar size companies, leaving more for shareholders. Though positive, it's important we delve into the performance of the actual business.

The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at KeyW Holding has changed from year to year.

Is The KeyW Holding Corporation Growing?

On average over the last three years, The KeyW Holding Corporation has grown earnings per share (EPS) by 29% each year (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 15% over last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. This sort of respectable year-on-year revenue growth is often seen at a healthy, growing business. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.

Has The KeyW Holding Corporation Been A Good Investment?

The KeyW Holding Corporation has not done too badly by shareholders, with a total return of 8.9%, over three years. But they probably wouldn't be so happy as to think the CEO should be paid more than is normal, for companies around this size.

In Summary...

It appears that The KeyW Holding Corporation remunerates its CEO below most similar sized companies. Many would consider this to indicate that the pay is modest since the business is growing. While some might be keen on seeing higher returns, our short analysis has not produced any evidence to suggest Bill Weber is overcompensated.

It's good to see reasonable payment of the CEO, even while the business improves. But it would be nice if insiders were also buying shares. Whatever your view on compensation, you might want to check if insiders are buying or selling KeyW Holding shares (free trial).

Important note: KeyW Holding may not be the best stock to buy. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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.

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. Thank you for reading.