Yahoo Finance Investors in New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZSE:NZO) have made a decent return of 57% over the past five years
In order to justify the effort of selecting individual stocks, it's worth striving to beat the returns from a market index fund. But the main game is to find enough winners to more than offset the losers At this point some shareholders may be questioning their investment in New Zealand Oil & Gas Limited (NZSE:NZO), since the last five years saw the share price fall 26%.
Now let's have a look at the company's fundamentals, and see if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.
See our latest analysis for New Zealand Oil & Gas
Because New Zealand Oil & Gas made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.
In the last five years New Zealand Oil & Gas saw its revenue shrink by 0.9% per year. That's not what investors generally want to see. The share price decline at a rate of 5% per year is disappointing. Unfortunately, though, it makes sense given the lack of either profits or revenue growth. It might be worth watching for signs of a turnaround - buyers are probably expecting one.
You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).
You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.
What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?
We've already covered New Zealand Oil & Gas' share price action, but we should also mention its 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. Its history of dividend payouts mean that New Zealand Oil & Gas' TSR of 57% over the last 5 years is better than the share price return.
A Different Perspective
We regret to report that New Zealand Oil & Gas shareholders are down 15% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 3.5%. 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. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 9%, 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. 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 3 warning signs for New Zealand Oil & Gas (1 can't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
We will like New Zealand Oil & Gas better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on NZ 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.
