Is HollyFrontier Corporation's (NYSE:HFC) CEO Paid At A Competitive Rate?
George Damiris has been the CEO of HollyFrontier Corporation (NYSE:HFC) since 2016. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.
Check out our latest analysis for HollyFrontier
How Does George Damiris's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
At the time of writing, our data says that HollyFrontier Corporation has a market cap of US$8.7b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$11m for the year to December 2018. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at US$1.3m. Importantly, there may be performance hurdles relating to the non-salary component of the total compensation. As part of our analysis we looked at companies in the same jurisdiction, with market capitalizations of US$4.0b to US$12b. The median total CEO compensation was US$6.7m.
As you can see, George Damiris is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean HollyFrontier Corporation is paying too much. We can better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance.
The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at HollyFrontier has changed from year to year.
Is HollyFrontier Corporation Growing?
Over the last three years HollyFrontier Corporation has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 70% per year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue changed by just 0.5%.
This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. It's nice to see a little revenue growth, as this is consistent with healthy business conditions. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.
Has HollyFrontier Corporation Been A Good Investment?
Most shareholders would probably be pleased with HollyFrontier Corporation for providing a total return of 130% over three years. This strong performance might mean some shareholders don't mind if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for a company of its size.
In Summary...
We examined the amount HollyFrontier Corporation pays its CEO, and compared it to the amount paid by similar sized companies. Our data suggests that it pays above the median CEO pay within that group.
Importantly, though, the company has impressed with its earnings per share growth, over three years. Even better, returns to shareholders have been plentiful, over the same time period. Considering this fine result for shareholders, we daresay the CEO compensation might be apt. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling HollyFrontier (free visualization of insider trades).
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
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.
