Yahoo Finance Can You Imagine How Baxter International's (NYSE:BAX) Shareholders Feel About The 99% Share Price Increase?
The main point of investing for the long term is to make money. But more than that, you probably want to see it rise more than the market average. But Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) has fallen short of that second goal, with a share price rise of 99% over five years, which is below the market return. The last year has been disappointing, with the stock price down 17% in that time.
Check out our latest analysis for Baxter International
While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).
Over half a decade, Baxter International managed to grow its earnings per share at 25% a year. The EPS growth is more impressive than the yearly share price gain of 15% over the same period. So it seems the market isn't so enthusiastic about the stock these days.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. This free interactive report on Baxter International's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
What About Dividends?
It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for Baxter International the TSR over the last 5 years was 110%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.
A Different Perspective
Investors in Baxter International had a tough year, with a total loss of 16% (including dividends), against a market gain of about 31%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 16%, each year, over five years. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Baxter International better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Baxter International that you should be aware of.
Baxter International 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 US exchanges.
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. 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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