Willamette Valley Vineyards, Inc. (NASDAQ:WVVI) Has Fared Decently But Fundamentals Look Uncertain: What Lies Ahead For The Stock?

Willamette Valley Vineyards' (NASDAQ:WVVI) stock up by 5.2% over the past three months. Given that the stock prices usually follow long-term business performance, we wonder if the company's mixed financials could have any adverse effect on its current price price movement Particularly, we will be paying attention to Willamette Valley Vineyards' ROE today.

ROE or return on equity is a useful tool to assess how effectively a company can generate returns on the investment it received from its shareholders. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

Check out our latest analysis for Willamette Valley Vineyards

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for ROE is:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Willamette Valley Vineyards is:

6.2% = US$3.1m ÷ US$50m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).

The 'return' is the yearly profit. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.06.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

Willamette Valley Vineyards' Earnings Growth And 6.2% ROE

On the face of it, Willamette Valley Vineyards' ROE is not much to talk about. A quick further study shows that the company's ROE doesn't compare favorably to the industry average of 16% either. Therefore, it might not be wrong to say that the five year net income decline of 2.6% seen by Willamette Valley Vineyards was probably the result of it having a lower ROE. However, there could also be other factors causing the earnings to decline. Such as - low earnings retention or poor allocation of capital.

However, when we compared Willamette Valley Vineyards' growth with the industry we found that while the company's earnings have been shrinking, the industry has seen an earnings growth of 5.2% in the same period. This is quite worrisome.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. One good indicator of expected earnings growth is the P/E ratio which determines the price the market is willing to pay for a stock based on its earnings prospects. So, you may want to check if Willamette Valley Vineyards is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

Is Willamette Valley Vineyards Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Willamette Valley Vineyards doesn't pay any dividend, meaning that the company is keeping all of its profits, which makes us wonder why it is retaining its earnings if it can't use them to grow its business. So there could be some other explanations in that regard. For instance, the company's business may be deteriorating.

Summary

Overall, we have mixed feelings about Willamette Valley Vineyards. While the company does have a high rate of profit retention, its low rate of return is probably hampering its earnings growth. Wrapping up, we would proceed with caution with this company and one way of doing that would be to look at the risk profile of the business. Our risks dashboard would have the 2 risks we have identified for Willamette Valley Vineyards.

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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