It’s easy to match the overall market return by buying an index fund. While individual stocks can be big winners, plenty more fail to generate satisfactory returns. Unfortunately the Credicorp Ltd. (NYSE:BAP) share price slid 40% over twelve months. That falls noticeably short of the market return of around 17%. To make matters worse, the returns over three years have also been really disappointing (the share price is 40% lower than three years ago). Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 18% in the last 90 days.
See our latest analysis for Credicorp
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 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).
Unfortunately Credicorp reported an EPS drop of 60% for the last year. The share price fall of 40% isn’t as bad as the reduction in earnings per share. So the market may not be too worried about the EPS figure, at the moment — or it may have expected earnings to drop faster.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
Dive deeper into Credicorp’s key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Credicorp’s earnings, revenue and cash flow.
What About Dividends?
As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of Credicorp, it has a TSR of -35% for the last year. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!
A Different Perspective
While the broader market gained around 17% in the last year, Credicorp shareholders lost 35% (even including dividends). However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 7.5% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. It’s always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Credicorp better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We’ve spotted 3 warning signs for Credicorp you should be aware of.
We will like Credicorp better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US 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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