Return Trends At Danaos (NYSE:DAC) Aren't Appealing

Simply Wall St
·2 min read
2

There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. Although, when we looked at Danaos (NYSE:DAC), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. The formula for this calculation on Danaos is:

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

0.07 = US$214m ÷ (US$3.3b - US$191m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2021).

Thus, Danaos has an ROCE of 7.0%. On its own that's a low return, but compared to the average of 5.7% generated by the Shipping industry, it's much better.

View our latest analysis for Danaos

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In the above chart we have measured Danaos' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Danaos here for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

There hasn't been much to report for Danaos' returns and its level of capital employed because both metrics have been steady for the past five years. Businesses with these traits tend to be mature and steady operations because they're past the growth phase. With that in mind, unless investment picks up again in the future, we wouldn't expect Danaos to be a multi-bagger going forward.

The Bottom Line On Danaos' ROCE

In a nutshell, Danaos has been trudging along with the same returns from the same amount of capital over the last five years. Unsurprisingly, the stock has only gained 20% over the last five years, which potentially indicates that investors are accounting for this going forward. Therefore, if you're looking for a multi-bagger, we'd propose looking at other options.

One final note, you should learn about the 5 warning signs we've spotted with Danaos (including 2 which are significant) .

While Danaos 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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