If You Had Bought Commercial Vehicle Group (NASDAQ:CVGI) Shares Three Years Ago You'd Have Made 65%

By buying an index fund, you can roughly match the market return with ease. But if you buy good businesses at attractive prices, your portfolio returns could exceed the average market return. For example, Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGI) shareholders have seen the share price rise 65% over three years, well in excess of the market return (30%, not including dividends).

Check out our latest analysis for Commercial Vehicle Group

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

Commercial Vehicle Group was able to grow its EPS at 91% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. This EPS growth is higher than the 18% average annual increase in the share price. So one could reasonably conclude that the market has cooled on the stock. This cautious sentiment is reflected in its (fairly low) P/E ratio of 5.52.

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

A Different Perspective

Commercial Vehicle Group shareholders are down 24% for the year, but the market itself is up 2.2%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 4.4% 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. Is Commercial Vehicle Group cheap compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

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 US exchanges.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.