Hammond Manufacturing (TSE:HMM.A) Is Doing The Right Things To Multiply Its Share Price

To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Hammond Manufacturing (TSE:HMM.A) so let's look a bit deeper.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Hammond Manufacturing:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.14 = CA$13m ÷ (CA$142m - CA$51m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to April 2022).

Thus, Hammond Manufacturing has an ROCE of 14%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 11% generated by the Electrical industry.

See our latest analysis for Hammond Manufacturing

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you'd like to look at how Hammond Manufacturing has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Hammond Manufacturing Tell Us?

The trends we've noticed at Hammond Manufacturing are quite reassuring. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 14%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 77%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

The Bottom Line

A company that is growing its returns on capital and can consistently reinvest in itself is a highly sought after trait, and that's what Hammond Manufacturing has. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Hammond Manufacturing can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

On a final note, we've found 2 warning signs for Hammond Manufacturing that we think you should be aware of.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

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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.