Yahoo Finance Those who invested in Gowing Bros (ASX:GOW) a year ago are up 31%
These days it's easy to simply buy an index fund, and your returns should (roughly) match the market. But investors can boost returns by picking market-beating companies to own shares in. To wit, the Gowing Bros. Limited (ASX:GOW) share price is 27% higher than it was a year ago, much better than the market decline of around 3.0% (not including dividends) in the same period. That's a solid performance by our standards! The longer term returns have not been as good, with the stock price only 12% higher than it was three years ago.
So let's assess the underlying fundamentals over the last 1 year and see if they've moved in lock-step with shareholder returns.
Check out our latest analysis for Gowing Bros
In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. 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).
During the last year Gowing Bros grew its earnings per share (EPS) by 106%. It's fair to say that the share price gain of 27% did not keep pace with the EPS growth. So it seems like the market has cooled on Gowing Bros, despite the growth. Interesting. This cautious sentiment is reflected in its (fairly low) P/E ratio of 11.94.
You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).
It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here..
What About Dividends?
When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. 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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. As it happens, Gowing Bros' TSR for the last 1 year was 31%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!
A Different Perspective
It's nice to see that Gowing Bros shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 31% over the last year. And that does include the dividend. There's no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 0.2% per year over five years. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the 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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Gowing Bros you should be aware of.
If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on AU 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.
