【harry potter fanfiction harry is a magical prodigy】Should You Be Excited About The Ensign Group, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ENSG) 16% Return On Equity?

Many investors are still learning about the various metrics that can be useful when analysing a stock. This harry potter fanfiction harry is a magical prodigyarticle is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE). We'll use ROE to examine The Ensign Group, Inc. (

NASDAQ:ENSG

), by way of a worked example.

Over the last twelve months

Ensign Group has recorded a ROE of 16%

. One way to conceptualize this, is that for each $1 of shareholders' equity it has, the company made $0.16 in profit.

View our latest analysis for Ensign Group

How Do I Calculate Return On Equity?

The

formula for ROE

is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

Or for Ensign Group:

16% = US$111m ÷ US$702m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2019.)

Most readers would understand what net profit is, but it’s worth explaining the concept of shareholders’ equity. It is the capital paid in by shareholders, plus any retained earnings. The easiest way to calculate shareholders' equity is to subtract the company's total liabilities from the total assets.

What Does ROE Mean?

ROE looks at the amount a company earns relative to the money it has kept within the business. The 'return' is the yearly profit. The higher the ROE, the more profit the company is making. So, all else equal,

investors should like a high ROE

. That means it can be interesting to compare the ROE of different companies.

Does Ensign Group Have A Good ROE?

Arguably the easiest way to assess company's ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. However, this method is only useful as a rough check, because companies do differ quite a bit within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, Ensign Group has a better ROE than the average (13%) in the Healthcare industry.

NasdaqGS:ENSG Past Revenue and Net Income, January 1st 2020

That is a good sign. We think a high ROE, alone, is usually enough to justify further research into a company. One data point to check is if

insiders have bought shares recently

.

The Importance Of Debt To Return On Equity

Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. That cash can come from retained earnings, issuing new shares (equity), or debt. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the debt used for growth will improve returns, but won't affect the total equity. That will make the ROE look better than if no debt was used.

Combining Ensign Group's Debt And Its 16% Return On Equity

While Ensign Group does have some debt, with debt to equity of just 0.39, we wouldn't say debt is excessive. Its very respectable ROE, combined with only modest debt, suggests the business is in good shape. Judicious use of debt to improve returns can certainly be a good thing, although it does elevate risk slightly and reduce future optionality.

Story continues

The Bottom Line On ROE

Return on equity is one way we can compare the business quality of different companies. In my book the highest quality companies have high return on equity, despite low debt. If two companies have around the same level of debt to equity, and one has a higher ROE, I'd generally prefer the one with higher ROE.

Having said that, while ROE is a useful indicator of business quality, you'll have to look at a whole range of factors to determine the right price to buy a stock. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So you might want to take a peek at this

data-rich interactive graph of forecasts for the company

.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this

free

list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at

[email protected]

. 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.

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. Thank you for reading.

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