Yahoo Finance Toronto-Dominion Bank's (TSE:TD) investors will be pleased with their decent 75% return over the last five years
It hasn't been the best quarter for The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD) shareholders, since the share price has fallen 13% in that time. But the silver lining is the stock is up over five years. However we are not very impressed because the share price is only up 43%, less than the market return of 53%.
So let's investigate and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.
View our latest analysis for Toronto-Dominion Bank
To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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.
Over half a decade, Toronto-Dominion Bank managed to grow its earnings per share at 11% a year. The EPS growth is more impressive than the yearly share price gain of 7% over the same period. So one could conclude that the broader market has become more cautious towards the stock. The reasonably low P/E ratio of 11.50 also suggests market apprehension.
The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).
We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Toronto-Dominion Bank's earnings, revenue and cash flow.
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. In the case of Toronto-Dominion Bank, it has a TSR of 75% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.
A Different Perspective
Toronto-Dominion Bank's TSR for the year was broadly in line with the market average, at 8.4%. It has to be noted that the recent return falls short of the 12% shareholders have gained each year, over half a decade. Although the share price growth has slowed, the longer term story points to a business well worth watching. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Toronto-Dominion Bank better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Toronto-Dominion Bank that 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 CA 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.
