GIC Housing Finance's(NSE:GICHSGFIN) Share Price Is Down 80% Over The Past Three Years.

As an investor, mistakes are inevitable. But you want to avoid the really big losses like the plague. So take a moment to sympathize with the long term shareholders of GIC Housing Finance Limited (NSE:GICHSGFIN), who have seen the share price tank a massive 80% over a three year period. That would be a disturbing experience. And the ride hasn't got any smoother in recent times over the last year, with the price 34% lower in that time.

View our latest analysis for GIC Housing Finance

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. 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 the three years that the share price declined, GIC Housing Finance's earnings per share (EPS) dropped significantly, falling to a loss. Extraordinary items contributed to this situation. Due to the loss, it's not easy to use EPS as a reliable guide to the business. But it's safe to say we'd generally expect the share price to be lower as a result!

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

This free interactive report on GIC Housing Finance's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 7.0% in the last year, GIC Housing Finance shareholders lost 34% (even including dividends). However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 8% per year over five years. 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. 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. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for GIC Housing Finance (of which 1 is a bit unpleasant!) you should know about.

Of course GIC Housing Finance may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

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

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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