Advertisement
Australia markets closed
  • ALL ORDS

    8,153.70
    +80.10 (+0.99%)
     
  • ASX 200

    7,896.90
    +77.30 (+0.99%)
     
  • AUD/USD

    0.6516
    -0.0020 (-0.31%)
     
  • OIL

    82.64
    +1.29 (+1.59%)
     
  • GOLD

    2,235.50
    +22.80 (+1.03%)
     
  • Bitcoin AUD

    109,479.14
    +2,956.99 (+2.78%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • AUD/EUR

    0.6034
    +0.0003 (+0.06%)
     
  • AUD/NZD

    1.0903
    +0.0023 (+0.21%)
     
  • NZX 50

    12,105.29
    +94.63 (+0.79%)
     
  • NASDAQ

    18,275.14
    -5.70 (-0.03%)
     
  • FTSE

    7,974.84
    +42.86 (+0.54%)
     
  • Dow Jones

    39,745.31
    -14.77 (-0.04%)
     
  • DAX

    18,511.07
    +33.98 (+0.18%)
     
  • Hang Seng

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     

Investors in Magellan Financial Group (ASX:MFG) have unfortunately lost 77% over the last three years

As an investor, mistakes are inevitable. But you have a problem if you face massive losses more than once in a while. So consider, for a moment, the misfortune of Magellan Financial Group Limited (ASX:MFG) investors who have held the stock for three years as it declined a whopping 81%. That'd be enough to cause even the strongest minds some disquiet. And more recent buyers are having a tough time too, with a drop of 71% in the last year. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 26% in the last 90 days. We really feel for shareholders in this scenario. It's a good reminder of the importance of diversification, and it's worth keeping in mind there's more to life than money, anyway.

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.

See our latest analysis for Magellan Financial Group

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. 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.

ADVERTISEMENT

Magellan Financial Group saw its EPS decline at a compound rate of 0.5% per year, over the last three years. This reduction in EPS is slower than the 42% annual reduction in the share price. So it seems the market was too confident about the business, in the past. The less favorable sentiment is reflected in its current P/E ratio of 4.59.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

earnings-per-share-growth
earnings-per-share-growth

We know that Magellan Financial Group has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? If you're interested, you could check this free report showing consensus revenue forecasts.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for Magellan Financial Group the TSR over the last 3 years was -77%, 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

Magellan Financial Group shareholders are down 68% for the year (even including dividends), but the market itself is up 2.5%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 9% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Magellan Financial Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Magellan Financial Group is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is concerning...

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

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

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here