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How Did Chemung Financial Corporation’s (NASDAQ:CHMG) 4.96% ROE Fare Against The Industry?

Devin Koller

Chemung Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CHMG) generated a below-average return on equity of 4.96% in the past 12 months, while its industry returned 8.21%. Though CHMG’s recent performance is underwhelming, it is useful to understand what ROE is made up of and how it should be interpreted. Knowing these components can change your views on CHMG’s below-average returns. Today I will look at how components such as financial leverage can influence ROE which may impact the sustainability of CHMG’s returns. See our latest analysis for Chemung Financial

Breaking down Return on Equity

Firstly, Return on Equity, or ROE, is simply the percentage of last years’ earning against the book value of shareholders’ equity. An ROE of 4.96% implies $0.05 returned on every $1 invested. While a higher ROE is preferred in most cases, there are several other factors we should consider before drawing any conclusions.

Return on Equity = Net Profit ÷ Shareholders Equity

ROE is measured against cost of equity in order to determine the efficiency of Chemung Financial’s equity capital deployed. Its cost of equity is 9.84%. Given a discrepancy of -4.88% between return and cost, this indicated that Chemung Financial may be paying more for its capital than what it’s generating in return. ROE can be dissected into three distinct ratios: net profit margin, asset turnover, and financial leverage. This is called the Dupont Formula:

Dupont Formula

ROE = profit margin × asset turnover × financial leverage


ROE = annual net profit ÷ shareholders’ equity

NasdaqGS:CHMG Last Perf Mar 26th 18

Essentially, profit margin shows how much money the company makes after paying for all its expenses. Asset turnover reveals how much revenue can be generated from Chemung Financial’s asset base. The most interesting ratio, and reflective of sustainability of its ROE, is financial leverage. Since financial leverage can artificially inflate ROE, we need to look at how much debt Chemung Financial currently has. The debt-to-equity ratio currently stands at a sensible 50.24%, meaning the ROE is a result of its capacity to produce profit growth without a huge debt burden.

NasdaqGS:CHMG Historical Debt Mar 26th 18

Next Steps:

While ROE is a relatively simple calculation, it can be broken down into different ratios, each telling a different story about the strengths and weaknesses of a company. Chemung Financial’s below-industry ROE is disappointing, furthermore, its returns were not even high enough to cover its own cost of equity. Although, its appropriate level of leverage means investors can be more confident in the sustainability of Chemung Financial’s return with a possible increase should the company decide to increase its debt levels. ROE is a helpful signal, but it is definitely not sufficient on its own to make an investment decision.

For Chemung Financial, I’ve compiled three relevant aspects you should further examine:

  2. Valuation: What is Chemung Financial worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether Chemung Financial is currently mispriced by the market.
  3. Other High-Growth Alternatives : Are there other high-growth stocks you could be holding instead of Chemung Financial? Explore our interactive list of stocks with large growth potential to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

