If you are building a properly diversified stock portfolio, the chances are some of your picks will perform badly. But the last three years have been particularly tough on longer term SH Group (Holdings) Limited (HKG:1637) shareholders. Sadly for them, the share price is down 59% in that time. Unhappily, the share price slid 1.2% in the last week.
Check out our latest analysis for SH Group (Holdings)
There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect 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.
During the unfortunate three years of share price decline, SH Group (Holdings) actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) improve by 19% per year. Given the share price reaction, one might suspect that EPS is not a good guide to the business performance during the period (perhaps due to a one-off loss or gain). Or else the company was over-hyped in the past, and so its growth has disappointed.
It’s worth taking a look at other metrics, because the EPS growth doesn’t seem to match with the falling share price.
With revenue flat over three years, it seems unlikely that the share price is reflecting the top line. There doesn’t seem to be any clear correlation between the fundamental business metrics and the share price. That could mean that the stock was previously overrated, or it could spell opportunity now.
The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).
If you are thinking of buying or selling SH Group (Holdings) stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.
What About Dividends?
As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for SH Group (Holdings) the TSR over the last 3 years was -56%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. And there’s no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!
A Different Perspective
The last twelve months weren’t great for SH Group (Holdings) shares, which cost holders 9.9% , including dividends , while the market was up about 8.4%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. However, the loss over the last year isn’t as bad as the 24% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last three years. We’d need clear signs of growth in the underlying business before we could muster much enthusiasm for this one. It’s always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand SH Group (Holdings) better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we’ve spotted 3 warning signs for SH Group (Holdings) (of which 1 is a bit unpleasant!) you should know about.
If you would prefer to check out another company — one with potentially superior financials — then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on HK exchanges.
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.
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