If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So when we looked at the ROCE trend of Modine Manufacturing (NYSE:MOD) we really liked what we saw.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. To calculate this metric for Modine Manufacturing, this is the formula:

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

0.20 = US$240m ÷ (US$1.7b - US$476m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

So, Modine Manufacturing has an ROCE of 20%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 12% earned by companies in a similar industry.

In the above chart we have measured Modine Manufacturing's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Modine Manufacturing for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Modine Manufacturing Tell Us?

Modine Manufacturing is showing promise given that its ROCE is trending up and to the right. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 66% whilst employing roughly the same amount of capital. Basically the business is generating higher returns from the same amount of capital and that is proof that there are improvements in the company's efficiencies. On that front, things are looking good so it's worth exploring what management has said about growth plans going forward.

The Key Takeaway

To sum it up, Modine Manufacturing is collecting higher returns from the same amount of capital, and that's impressive. And a remarkable 534% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Modine Manufacturing can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

If you want to continue researching Modine Manufacturing, you might be interested to know about the 1 warning sign that our analysis has discovered.

Modine Manufacturing is not the only stock earning high returns. If you'd like to see more, check out our free list of companies earning high returns on equity with solid fundamentals.

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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.