Are Poor Financial Prospects Dragging Down Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT Stock?

Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT) has had a rough three months with its share price down 7.4%. Given that stock prices are usually driven by a company’s fundamentals over the long term, which in this case look pretty weak, we decided to study the company's key financial indicators. In this article, we decided to focus on Camden Property Trust's ROE.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

See our latest analysis for Camden Property Trust

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Camden Property Trust is:

5.6% = US$203m ÷ US$3.6b (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this is that for each $1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made $0.06 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

Camden Property Trust's Earnings Growth And 5.6% ROE

On the face of it, Camden Property Trust's ROE is not much to talk about. However, given that the company's ROE is similar to the average industry ROE of 5.0%, we may spare it some thought. Having said that, Camden Property Trust's five year net income decline rate was 14%. Remember, the company's ROE is a bit low to begin with. Therefore, the decline in earnings could also be the result of this.

So, as a next step, we compared Camden Property Trust's performance against the industry and were disappointed to discover that while the company has been shrinking its earnings, the industry has been growing its earnings at a rate of 14% in the same period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is CPT fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is Camden Property Trust Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Camden Property Trust seems to be paying out most of its income as dividends judging by its three-year median payout ratio of 64% (meaning, the company retains only 36% of profits). However, this is typical for REITs as they are often required by law to distribute most of their earnings. Accordingly, this likely explains why its earnings have been shrinking.

Additionally, Camden Property Trust has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years, which means that the company's management is determined to pay dividends even if it means little to no earnings growth. Based on the latest analysts' estimates, we found that the company's future payout ratio over the next three years is expected to hold steady at 65%. Therefore, the company's future ROE is also not expected to change by much with analysts predicting an ROE of 5.4%.

Conclusion

Overall, we would be extremely cautious before making any decision on Camden Property Trust. Because the company is not reinvesting much into the business, and given the low ROE, it's not surprising to see the lack or absence of growth in its earnings. That being so, the latest industry analyst forecasts show that the analysts are expecting to see a huge improvement in the company's earnings growth rate. Are these analysts expectations based on the broad expectations for the industry, or on the company's fundamentals? Click here to be taken to our analyst's forecasts page for the company.

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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