Hugel (KOSDAQ:145020) has had a rough three months with its share price down 18%. But if you pay close attention, you might gather that its strong financials could mean that the stock could potentially see an increase in value in the long-term, given how markets usually reward companies with good financial health. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Hugel's ROE today.
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 other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.
The formula for return on equity is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Hugel is:
16% = ₩149b ÷ ₩934b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2025).
The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. So, this means that for every ₩1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of ₩0.16.
See our latest analysis for Hugel
We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. 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.
To begin with, Hugel seems to have a respectable ROE. Further, the company's ROE compares quite favorably to the industry average of 6.8%. Probably as a result of this, Hugel was able to see an impressive net income growth of 26% over the last five years. We reckon that there could also be other factors at play here. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.
As a next step, we compared Hugel's net income growth with the industry and found that the company has a similar growth figure when compared with the industry average growth rate of 23% in the same period.
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. Has the market priced in the future outlook for A145020? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Given that Hugel doesn't pay any regular dividends to its shareholders, we infer that the company has been reinvesting all of its profits to grow its business.
Overall, we are quite pleased with Hugel's performance. In particular, it's great to see that the company is investing heavily into its business and along with a high rate of return, that has resulted in a sizeable growth in its earnings. We also studied the latest analyst forecasts and found that the company's earnings growth is expected be similar to its current 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.
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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.