money Is Harsco Corporation's (NYSE:HSC) CEO Pay Justified?
Nick Grasberger became the CEO of Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) in 2014. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.
Check out our latest analysis for Harsco
How Does Nick Grasberger's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
Our data indicates that Harsco Corporation is worth US$1.2b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$5.7m for the year to December 2018. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at US$878k. Importantly, there may be performance hurdles relating to the non-salary component of the total compensation. As part of our analysis we looked at companies in the same jurisdiction, with market capitalizations of US$1.0b to US$3.2b. The median total CEO compensation was US$3.8m.
As you can see, Nick Grasberger is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Harsco Corporation is paying too much. We can better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance.
You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Harsco, below.
Is Harsco Corporation Growing?
Harsco Corporation has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 115% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 23%.
Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. This sort of respectable year-on-year revenue growth is often seen at a healthy, growing business. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.
Has Harsco Corporation Been A Good Investment?
Harsco Corporation has generated a total shareholder return of 14% over three years, so most shareholders would be reasonably content. But they would probably prefer not to see CEO compensation far in excess of the median.
In Summary...
We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by Harsco Corporation, and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.
However, the earnings per share growth over three years is certainly impressive. We also think investors are doing ok, over the same time period. You might wish to research management further, but on this analysis, considering the EPS growth, we wouldn't call the CEO pay problematic. Shareholders may want to check for free if Harsco insiders are buying or selling shares.
Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
