If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Although, when we looked at Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Northwest Natural Holding:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.044 = US$136m ÷ (US$3.8b - US$627m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

So, Northwest Natural Holding has an ROCE of 4.4%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Gas Utilities industry average of 5.5%.

Check out our latest analysis for Northwest Natural Holding

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Northwest Natural Holding compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

The Trend Of ROCE

There are better returns on capital out there than what we're seeing at Northwest Natural Holding. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 4.4% and the business has deployed 21% more capital into its operations. This poor ROCE doesn't inspire confidence right now, and with the increase in capital employed, it's evident that the business isn't deploying the funds into high return investments.

In Conclusion...

As we've seen above, Northwest Natural Holding's returns on capital haven't increased but it is reinvesting in the business. And with the stock having returned a mere 24% in the last five years to shareholders, you could argue that they're aware of these lackluster trends. Therefore, if you're looking for a multi-bagger, we'd propose looking at other options.

Northwest Natural Holding does have some risks, we noticed 2 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit concerning) we think you should know about.

While Northwest Natural Holding isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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. 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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