It is hard to get excited after looking at Canterbury Park Holding's (NASDAQ:CPHC) recent performance, when its stock has declined 18% over the past three months. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financials over the long term, which in this case look pretty respectable. Specifically, we decided to study Canterbury Park Holding's ROE in this article.

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 simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

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How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

ROE can be calculated by using the formula:

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

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Canterbury Park Holding is:

2.5% = US$2.1m ÷ US$84m (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

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 $0.03 in profit.

See our latest analysis for Canterbury Park Holding

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a company’s earnings growth potential. 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.

Canterbury Park Holding's Earnings Growth And 2.5% ROE

As you can see, Canterbury Park Holding's ROE looks pretty weak. Even when compared to the industry average of 15%, the ROE figure is pretty disappointing. However, the moderate 17% net income growth seen by Canterbury Park Holding over the past five years is definitely a positive. Therefore, the growth in earnings could probably have been caused by other variables. Such as - high earnings retention or an efficient management in place.

We then compared Canterbury Park Holding's net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 33% in the same 5-year period, which is a bit concerning.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. By doing so, they will have an idea if the stock is headed into clear blue waters or if swampy waters await. If you're wondering about Canterbury Park Holding's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio , as compared to its industry.

Is Canterbury Park Holding Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Canterbury Park Holding has a low three-year median payout ratio of 13%, meaning that the company retains the remaining 87% of its profits. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business.

Besides, Canterbury Park Holding has been paying dividends over a period of nine years. This shows that the company is committed to sharing profits with its shareholders.

Summary

On the whole, we do feel that Canterbury Park Holding has some positive attributes. Namely, its respectable earnings growth, which it achieved due to it retaining most of its profits. However, given the low ROE, investors may not be benefitting from all that reinvestment after all. While we won't completely dismiss the company, what we would do, is try to ascertain how risky the business is to make a more informed decision around the company. You can see the 3 risks we have identified for Canterbury Park Holding by visiting our risks dashboard for free on our platform here.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.