Yahoo Finance Alkane Resources (ASX:ALK) shareholders have earned a 17% CAGR over the last five years
While Alkane Resources Limited (ASX:ALK) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 20% in the last quarter. Looking further back, the stock has generated good profits over five years. It has returned a market beating 73% in that time. Unfortunately not all shareholders will have held it for the long term, so spare a thought for those caught in the 38% decline over the last twelve months.
So let's investigate and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.
See our latest analysis for Alkane Resources
While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.
During the five years of share price growth, Alkane Resources moved from a loss to profitability. That would generally be considered a positive, so we'd expect the share price to be up. Given that the company made a profit three years ago, but not five years ago, it is worth looking at the share price returns over the last three years, too. We can see that the Alkane Resources share price is up 3.6% in the last three years. In the same period, EPS is up 37% per year. This EPS growth is higher than the 1.2% average annual increase in the share price over the same three years. Therefore, it seems the market has moderated its expectations for growth, somewhat. This cautious sentiment is reflected in its (fairly low) P/E ratio of 4.86.
The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Alkane Resources' earnings, revenue and cash flow.
What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?
We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Alkane Resources' total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price return. Arguably the TSR is a more complete return calculation because it accounts for the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested), along with the hypothetical value of any discounted capital that have been offered to shareholders. Alkane Resources hasn't been paying dividends, but its TSR of 117% exceeds its share price return of 73%, implying it has either spun-off a business, or raised capital at a discount; thereby providing additional value to shareholders.
A Different Perspective
While the broader market lost about 1.9% in the twelve months, Alkane Resources shareholders did even worse, losing 38%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 17%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Take risks, for example - Alkane Resources has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.
Alkane Resources is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on AU exchanges.
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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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