Does Titan Machinery (NASDAQ:TITN) Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.

In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like Titan Machinery (NASDAQ:TITN), which has not only revenues, but also profits. 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.

See our latest analysis for Titan Machinery

Titan Machinery's Improving Profits

Over the last three years, Titan Machinery has grown earnings per share (EPS) at as impressive rate from a relatively low point, resulting in a three year percentage growth rate that isn't particularly indicative of expected future performance. So it would be better to isolate the growth rate over the last year for our analysis. Impressively, Titan Machinery's EPS catapulted from US$1.97 to US$4.68, over the last year. It's not often a company can achieve year-on-year growth of 138%. That could be a sign that the business has reached a true inflection point.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. Titan Machinery shareholders can take confidence from the fact that EBIT margins are up from 4.2% to 6.7%, and revenue is growing. Both of which are great metrics to check off for potential growth.

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.

While we live in the present moment, there's little doubt that the future matters most in the investment decision process. So why not check this interactive chart depicting future EPS estimates, for Titan Machinery?

Are Titan Machinery Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It's pleasing to see company leaders with putting their money on the line, so to speak, because it increases alignment of incentives between the people running the business, and its true owners. Titan Machinery followers will find comfort in knowing that insiders have a significant amount of capital that aligns their best interests with the wider shareholder group. Holding US$98m worth of stock in the company is no laughing matter and insiders will be committed in delivering the best outcomes for shareholders. That holding amounts to 11% of the stock on issue, thus making insiders influential owners of the business and aligned with the interests of shareholders.

While it's always good to see some strong conviction in the company from insiders through heavy investment, it's also important for shareholders to ask if management compensation policies are reasonable. Well, based on the CEO pay, you'd argue that they are indeed. For companies with market capitalisations between US$400m and US$1.6b, like Titan Machinery, the median CEO pay is around US$3.9m.

The Titan Machinery CEO received total compensation of just US$484k in the year to January 2022. That's clearly well below average, so at a glance that arrangement seems generous to shareholders and points to a modest remuneration culture. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally.

Does Titan Machinery Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

Titan Machinery's earnings per share have been soaring, with growth rates sky high. An added bonus for those interested is that management hold a heap of stock and the CEO pay is quite reasonable, illustrating good cash management. The sharp increase in earnings could signal good business momentum. Titan Machinery certainly ticks a few boxes, so we think it's probably well worth further consideration. It is worth noting though that we have found 2 warning signs for Titan Machinery (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you need to take into consideration.

There's always the possibility of doing well buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But for those who consider these important metrics, we encourage you to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a free list of them here.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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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