Is Now The Time To Put Thomson Medical Group (SGX:A50) On Your Watchlist?

For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' Loss making companies can act like a sponge for capital - so investors should be cautious that they're not throwing good money after bad.

Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like Thomson Medical Group (SGX:A50). Even if this company is fairly valued by the market, investors would agree that generating consistent profits will continue to provide Thomson Medical Group with the means to add long-term value to shareholders.

View our latest analysis for Thomson Medical Group

How Fast Is Thomson Medical Group Growing Its Earnings Per Share?

In business, profits are a key measure of success; and share prices tend to reflect earnings per share (EPS) performance. So for many budding investors, improving EPS is considered a good sign. It's an outstanding feat for Thomson Medical Group to have grown EPS from S$0.00054 to S$0.002 in just one year. Even though that growth rate may not be repeated, that looks like a breakout improvement. But the key is discerning whether something profound has changed, or if this is a just a one-off boost.

Top-line growth is a great indicator that growth is sustainable, and combined with a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin, it's a great way for a company to maintain a competitive advantage in the market. The good news is that Thomson Medical Group is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 7.2 percentage points to 28%, over the last year. That's great to see, on both counts.

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.

While profitability drives the upside, prudent investors always check the balance sheet, too.

Are Thomson Medical Group Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Many consider high insider ownership to be a strong sign of alignment between the leaders of a company and the ordinary shareholders. So as you can imagine, the fact that Thomson Medical Group insiders own a significant number of shares certainly is appealing. To be exact, company insiders hold 90% of the company, so their decisions have a significant impact on their investments. This should be seen as a good thing, as it means insiders have a personal interest in delivering the best outcomes for shareholders. S$1.9b That means they have plenty of their own capital riding on the performance of the business!

Should You Add Thomson Medical Group To Your Watchlist?

Thomson Medical Group's earnings have taken off in quite an impressive fashion. That sort of growth is nothing short of eye-catching, and the large investment held by insiders should certainly brighten the view of the company. The hope is, of course, that the strong growth marks a fundamental improvement in the business economics. Based on the sum of its parts, we definitely think its worth watching Thomson Medical Group very closely. We should say that we've discovered 1 warning sign for Thomson Medical Group that you should be aware of before investing here.

The beauty of investing is that you can invest in almost any company you want. But if you prefer to focus on stocks that have demonstrated insider buying, here is a list of companies with insider buying in the last three months.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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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.

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