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Did You Manage To Avoid Legacy Iron Ore's (ASX:LCY) Devastating 83% Share Price Drop?

Long term investing works well, but it doesn't always work for each individual stock. We really hate to see fellow investors lose their hard-earned money. Spare a thought for those who held Legacy Iron Ore Limited (ASX:LCY) for five whole years - as the share price tanked 83%. And some of the more recent buyers are probably worried, too, with the stock falling 67% in the last year. Furthermore, it's down 50% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders. Of course, this share price action may well have been influenced by the 24% decline in the broader market, throughout the period.

We really hope anyone holding through that price crash has a diversified portfolio. Even when you lose money, you don't have to lose the lesson.

View our latest analysis for Legacy Iron Ore

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Legacy Iron Ore recorded just AU$32,981 in revenue over the last twelve months, which isn't really enough for us to consider it to have a proven product. You have to wonder why venture capitalists aren't funding it. As a result, we think it's unlikely shareholders are paying much attention to current revenue, but rather speculating on growth in the years to come. It seems likely some shareholders believe that Legacy Iron Ore will find or develop a valuable new mine before too long.

We think companies that have neither significant revenues nor profits are pretty high risk. We can see that they needed to raise more capital, and took that step recently despite the fact that it would have been dilutive to current holders. While some companies like this go on to deliver on their plan, making good money for shareholders, many end in painful losses and eventual de-listing. Some Legacy Iron Ore investors have already had a taste of the bitterness stocks like this can leave in the mouth.

Legacy Iron Ore only just had cash in excess of all liabilities when it last reported. So it is a good thing that the company has looked to remedy the situation by raising more capital recently. With that in mind, you can imagine there may be other factors that caused the share price to drop 30% per year, over 5 years. You can see in the image below, how Legacy Iron Ore's cash levels have changed over time (click to see the values).

ASX:LCY Historical Debt, March 18th 2020
ASX:LCY Historical Debt, March 18th 2020

It can be extremely risky to invest in a company that doesn't even have revenue. There's no way to know its value easily. What if insiders are ditching the stock hand over fist? I would feel more nervous about the company if that were so. You can click here to see if there are insiders selling.

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We've already covered Legacy Iron Ore's share price action, but we should also mention its total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR attempts to capture the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested) as well as any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings offered to shareholders. Legacy Iron Ore hasn't been paying dividends, but its TSR of -77% exceeds its share price return of -83%, implying it has either spun-off a business, or raised capital at a discount; thereby providing additional value to shareholders.

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that Legacy Iron Ore shareholders are down 55% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 12%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 26% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. 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. For example, we've discovered 6 warning signs for Legacy Iron Ore (4 make us uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on AU exchanges.

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.