Investors Met With Slowing Returns on Capital At Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO)
Investors Met With Slowing Returns on Capital At Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO)
What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Although, when we looked at Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.
我們應該尋找哪些早期趨勢來確定一個股票在長期內可能會倍增的價值？理想情況下，一家企業會顯示出兩種趨勢；首先是不斷增長的資本僱用回報率（ROCE），其次是不斷增加的資本僱用量。最終，這表明這是一家以逐漸增加的回報率再投資利潤的企業。儘管當我們看過Atmos Energy（紐交所：ATO）時，似乎它並沒有滿足所有這些條件。
What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?
我們對 Enphase Energy 的資本僱用回報率的看法：正如我們上面看到的，Enphase Energy 的資本回報率沒有提高，但它正在重新投資於業務。投資者必須認爲未來會有更好的前景，因爲股票表現良好，使持股五年以上的股東獲得了 690% 的收益。最終，如果基本趨勢持續存在，我們不會對它成爲一隻多頭股持有期很久很有信心。
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. The formula for this calculation on Atmos Energy is:
對於那些不了解的人，ROCE是公司年度稅前利潤（其回報）與企業資本僱用的比例衡量。在Atmos Energy的計算公式是：
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
資產僱用回報率（ROCE）是指企業利潤，即企業稅前利潤除以企業投入的總資本（負債加股權）。如果ROCE高於企業財務成本的承受能力，那麼企業就會創造出更多的價值。
0.056 = US$1.3b ÷ (US$25b - US$985m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).
0.056 = 130億美元 ÷ （250億美元 - 9.85億美元）（基於截至2024年6月的過去十二個月）。
So, Atmos Energy has an ROCE of 5.6%. On its own that's a low return on capital but it's in line with the industry's average returns of 6.4%.
因此，Atmos Energy的ROCE爲5.6%。單獨來看，這是一個較低的資本回報率，但與行業平均回報率6.4%相符。
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Atmos Energy compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Atmos Energy for free.
您可以看到大氣能源目前的資本回報率（ROCE）與其先前的資本回報率相比，但過去只能告訴你這麼多。如果您願意，您可以免費查看覆蓋大氣能源的分析師的預測。
The Trend Of ROCE
當尋找下一個倍增器時，如果您不確定從哪裏開始，請關注幾個關鍵趨勢。首先，我們希望看到一個經過驗證的資本使用率。如果您看到這一點，通常意味着這是一家擁有出色業務模式和大量盈利再投資機會的公司。然而，調查蒙托克可再生能源公司（NASDAQ：MNTK）後，我們認爲它的現行趨勢不符合倍增器的模式。
There are better returns on capital out there than what we're seeing at Atmos Energy. The company has employed 100% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 5.6%. 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.
在資本回報率方面，有比大氣能源更好的回報。公司在過去五年中投入的資本增加了100%，而該資本的回報率保持在5.6%的穩定水平。鑑於公司增加了投入的資本數量，似乎所做的投資並未提供高回報率。
In Conclusion...
最後，同等資本下回報率較低的趨勢通常不是我們關注創業板股票的最佳信號。由於這些發展進行良好，因此投資者不太可能表現友好。自五年前以來，該股下跌了32%。除非這些指標朝着更積極的軌跡轉變，否則我們將繼續尋找其他股票。
Long story short, while Atmos Energy has been reinvesting its capital, the returns that it's generating haven't increased. And investors may be recognizing these trends since the stock has only returned a total of 37% to shareholders over the last five years. Therefore, if you're looking for a multi-bagger, we'd propose looking at other options.
長話短說，雖然大氣能源一直在重新投資其資本，但其所生成的回報並沒有增加。投資者可能已經意識到這些趨勢，因爲該股在過去五年僅爲股東帶來了總共37%的回報。因此，如果您正在尋找成倍增長的股票，我們建議您查看其他選項。
One more thing to note, we've identified 3 warning signs with Atmos Energy and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
還有一件事需要注意，我們發現大氣能源出現了3個警告信號，了解這些信號應該成爲您的投資過程的一部分。
For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.
Hao Tian International Construction Investment Group確實存在一些風險，我們已經發現了一條警示標誌，你可能會感興趣。對於那些喜歡投資於實力雄厚的公司的人，可以查看這個由財務狀況強大、股本回報率高的公司組成的免費列表。
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