Is Weakness In Max Healthcare Institute Limited (NSE:MAXHEALTH) Stock A Sign That The Market Could be Wrong Given Its Strong Financial Prospects?

It is hard to get excited after looking at Max Healthcare Institute's (NSE:MAXHEALTH) recent performance, when its stock has declined 2.0% over the past month. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. Specifically, we decided to study Max Healthcare Institute's ROE in this article.

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 short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

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How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

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 Max Healthcare Institute is:

13% = ₹14b ÷ ₹101b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2025).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every ₹1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn ₹0.13 in profit.

View our latest analysis for Max Healthcare Institute

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 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.

A Side By Side comparison of Max Healthcare Institute's Earnings Growth And 13% ROE

When you first look at it, Max Healthcare Institute's ROE doesn't look that attractive. However, the fact that the company's ROE is higher than the average industry ROE of 11%, is definitely interesting. Especially when you consider Max Healthcare Institute's exceptional 33% net income growth over the past five years. That being said, the company does have a slightly low ROE to begin with, just that it is higher than the industry average. So, there might well be other reasons for the earnings to grow. Such as- high earnings retention or the company belonging to a high growth industry.

Next, on comparing with the industry net income growth, we found that Max Healthcare Institute's growth is quite high when compared to the industry average growth of 25% in the same period, which is great to see.

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. 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 Max Healthcare Institute's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Max Healthcare Institute Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

Max Healthcare Institute's ' three-year median payout ratio is on the lower side at 14% implying that it is retaining a higher percentage (86%) of its profits. This suggests that the management is reinvesting most of the profits to grow the business as evidenced by the growth seen by the company.

While Max Healthcare Institute has seen growth in its earnings, it only recently started to pay a dividend. It is most likely that the company decided to impress new and existing shareholders with a dividend. Existing analyst estimates suggest that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 8.1% over the next three years. The fact that the company's ROE is expected to rise to 18% over the same period is explained by the drop in the payout ratio.

Summary

Overall, we are quite pleased with Max Healthcare Institute's performance. In particular, it's great to see that the company has seen significant growth in its earnings backed by a respectable ROE and a high reinvestment rate. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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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.