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Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) Is Looking To Continue Growing Its Returns On Capital

Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So when we looked at Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

What is 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 Helen of Troy:

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

0.15 = US$268m ÷ (US$2.4b - US$600m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to August 2021).

Therefore, Helen of Troy has an ROCE of 15%. That's a pretty standard return and it's in line with the industry average of 15%.

See our latest analysis for Helen of Troy

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Above you can see how the current ROCE for Helen of Troy compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Helen of Troy.

So How Is Helen of Troy's ROCE Trending?

Helen of Troy's ROCE growth is quite impressive. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 38% whilst employing roughly the same amount of capital. So our take on this is that the business has increased efficiencies to generate these higher returns, all the while not needing to make any additional investments. It's worth looking deeper into this though because while it's great that the business is more efficient, it might also mean that going forward the areas to invest internally for the organic growth are lacking.

Our Take On Helen of Troy's ROCE

As discussed above, Helen of Troy appears to be getting more proficient at generating returns since capital employed has remained flat but earnings (before interest and tax) are up. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.

On a separate note, we've found 1 warning sign for Helen of Troy you'll probably want to know about.

While Helen of Troy isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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.

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