Yahoo Finance Investors in Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT) have made a notable return of 59% over the past three years
You can receive the average market return by buying a low-cost index fund. But you can make superior returns by picking better-than average stocks. To wit, Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. (NYSE:HVT) shares are up 26% in three years, besting the market return. In contrast, the stock is actually down 18% in the last year, suggesting a lack of positive momentum.
With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.
Check out our latest analysis for Haverty Furniture Companies
While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.
Haverty Furniture Companies was able to grow its EPS at 60% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. This EPS growth is higher than the 8% average annual increase in the share price. 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 4.87.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
We know that Haverty Furniture Companies has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? If you are thinking of buying or selling Haverty Furniture Companies stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.
What About Dividends?
As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Haverty Furniture Companies, it has a TSR of 59% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!
A Different Perspective
While it's never nice to take a loss, Haverty Furniture Companies shareholders can take comfort that , including dividends,their trailing twelve month loss of 10.0% wasn't as bad as the market loss of around 21%. Of course, the long term returns are far more important and the good news is that over five years, the stock has returned 10% for each year. In the best case scenario the last year is just a temporary blip on the journey to a brighter future. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 4 warning signs for Haverty Furniture Companies (2 don't sit too well with us!) 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 US 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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