We Like These Underlying Trends At JKX Oil & Gas (LON:JKX)
What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at JKX Oil & Gas (LON:JKX) so let's look a bit deeper.
Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?
Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. To calculate this metric for JKX Oil & Gas, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.11 = US$23m ÷ (US$259m - US$39m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2019).
So, JKX Oil & Gas has an ROCE of 11%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Oil and Gas industry average of 7.5% it's much better.
Check out our latest analysis for JKX Oil & Gas
In the above chart we have a measured JKX Oil & Gas' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for JKX Oil & Gas.
What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us
You'd find it hard not to be impressed with the ROCE trend at JKX Oil & Gas. We found that the returns on capital employed over the last five years have risen by 109%. That's not bad because this tells for every dollar invested (capital employed), the company is increasing the amount earned from that dollar. Interestingly, the business may be becoming more efficient because it's applying 37% less capital than it was five years ago. If this trend continues, the business might be getting more efficient but it's shrinking in terms of total assets.
What We Can Learn From JKX Oil & Gas' ROCE
In summary, it's great to see that JKX Oil & Gas has been able to turn things around and earn higher returns on lower amounts of capital. Considering the stock has delivered 17% to its stockholders over the last five years, it may be fair to think that investors aren't fully aware of the promising trends yet. So with that in mind, we think the stock deserves further research.
One more thing, we've spotted 2 warning signs facing JKX Oil & Gas that you might find interesting.
If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.
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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