Investors are often guided by the idea of discovering ‘the next big thing’, even if that means buying ‘story stocks’ without any revenue, let alone profit. Sometimes these stories can cloud the minds of investors, leading them to invest with their emotions rather than on the merit of good company fundamentals. 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 Lorne Park Capital Partners (CVE:LPC). Now this is not to say that the company presents the best investment opportunity around, but profitability is a key component to success in business.
View our latest analysis for Lorne Park Capital Partners
Lorne Park Capital Partners’ Earnings Per Share Are Growing
If you believe that markets are even vaguely efficient, then over the long term you’d expect a company’s share price to follow its earnings per share (EPS) outcomes. That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. Lorne Park Capital Partners’ shareholders have have plenty to be happy about as their annual EPS growth for the last 3 years was 41%. Growth that fast may well be fleeting, but it should be more than enough to pique the interest of the wary stock pickers.
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. Lorne Park Capital Partners shareholders can take confidence from the fact that EBIT margins are up from 10% to 15%, and revenue is growing. 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. For finer detail, click on the image.
Since Lorne Park Capital Partners is no giant, with a market capitalisation of CA$70m, you should definitely check its cash and debt before getting too excited about its prospects.
Are Lorne Park Capital Partners Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
Seeing insiders owning a large portion of the shares on issue is often a good sign. Their incentives will be aligned with the investors and there’s less of a probability in a sudden sell-off that would impact the share price. So we’re pleased to report that Lorne Park Capital Partners insiders own a meaningful share of the business. In fact, they own 42% of the shares, making insiders a very influential shareholder group. Those who are comforted by solid insider ownership like this should be happy, as it implies that those running the business are genuinely motivated to create shareholder value. To give you an idea, the value of insiders’ holdings in the business are valued at CA$30m at the current share price. That should be more than enough to keep them focussed on creating shareholder value!
Is Lorne Park Capital Partners Worth Keeping An Eye On?
Lorne Park Capital Partners’ 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. At times fast EPS growth is a sign the business has reached an inflection point, so there’s a potential opportunity to be had here. Based on the sum of its parts, we definitely think its worth watching Lorne Park Capital Partners very closely. We should say that we’ve discovered 3 warning signs for Lorne Park Capital Partners (1 can’t be ignored!) 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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