DT Midstream (NYSE:DTM) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 16% over the last three months. However, we decided to pay attention to the company's fundamentals which don't appear to give a clear sign about the company's financial health. In this article, we decided to focus on DT Midstream's ROE.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

Check out our latest analysis for DT Midstream

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

Return on equity can be calculated by using the formula:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for DT Midstream is:

9.3% = US$396m ÷ US$4.3b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.09.

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

We have already established that ROE serves as an efficient profit-generating gauge for a company's future earnings. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don’t share these attributes.

DT Midstream's Earnings Growth And 9.3% ROE

When you first look at it, DT Midstream's ROE doesn't look that attractive. Next, when compared to the average industry ROE of 21%, the company's ROE leaves us feeling even less enthusiastic. DT Midstream was still able to see a decent net income growth of 10% over the past five years. So, the growth in the company's earnings could probably have been caused by other variables. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

We then compared DT Midstream's net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 37% in the same 5-year period, which is a bit concerning.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. What is DTM worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether DTM is currently mispriced by the market.

Is DT Midstream Making Efficient Use Of Its Profits?

DT Midstream has a significant three-year median payout ratio of 68%, meaning that it is left with only 32% to reinvest into its business. This implies that the company has been able to achieve decent earnings growth despite returning most of its profits to shareholders.

Moreover, DT Midstream is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of three years of paying a dividend. Our latest analyst data shows that the future payout ratio of the company over the next three years is expected to be approximately 71%. As a result, DT Midstream's ROE is not expected to change by much either, which we inferred from the analyst estimate of 9.9% for future ROE.

Conclusion

Overall, we have mixed feelings about DT Midstream. Although the company has shown a fair bit of growth in earnings, the reinvestment rate is low. Meaning, the earnings growth number could have been significantly higher had the company been retaining more of its profits and reinvesting that at a higher rate of return. With that said, the latest industry analyst forecasts reveal that the company's earnings growth is expected to slow down. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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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.