Here’s What To Make Of Black Hills’ (NYSE:BKH) Decelerating Rates Of Return

Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Firstly, we’d want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Having said that, from a first glance at Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) we aren’t jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let’s have a deeper look.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those that aren’t sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Black Hills:

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

0.052 = US$426m ÷ (US$8.9b – US$758m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).

Therefore, Black Hills has an ROCE of 5.2%. On its own that’s a low return on capital but it’s in line with the industry’s average returns of 4.8%.

View our latest analysis for Black Hills

Here’s What To Make Of Black Hills’ (NYSE:BKH) Decelerating Rates Of Return
NYSE:BKH Return on Capital Employed November 11th 2021

In the above chart we have measured Black Hills’ prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you’re interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

There are better returns on capital out there than what we’re seeing at Black Hills. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 5.2% and the business has deployed 37% more capital into its operations. Given the company has increased the amount of capital employed, it appears the investments that have been made simply don’t provide a high return on capital.

Our Take On Black Hills’ ROCE

As we’ve seen above, Black Hills’ returns on capital haven’t increased but it is reinvesting in the business. And with the stock having returned a mere 32% in the last five years to shareholders, you could argue that they’re aware of these lackluster trends. As a result, if you’re hunting for a multi-bagger, we think you’d have more luck elsewhere.

If you’d like to know about the risks facing Black Hills, we’ve discovered 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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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