Over the Wire Holdings (ASX:OTW) Shareholders Have Enjoyed An Impressive 274% Share Price Gain

The most you can lose on any stock (assuming you don't use leverage) is 100% of your money. But if you buy shares in a really great company, you can more than double your money. To wit, the Over the Wire Holdings Limited (ASX:OTW) share price has flown 274% in the last three years. That sort of return is as solid as granite. In the last week shares have slid back 1.6%.

Check out our latest analysis for Over the Wire Holdings

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. 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.

During three years of share price growth, Over the Wire Holdings achieved compound earnings per share growth of 20% per year. In comparison, the 55% per year gain in the share price outpaces the EPS growth. This indicates that the market is feeling more optimistic on the stock, after the last few years of progress. It is quite common to see investors become enamoured with a business, after a few years of solid progress.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here..

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. 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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, Over the Wire Holdings's TSR for the last 3 years was 283%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

Pleasingly, Over the Wire Holdings's total shareholder return last year was 70%. That's including the dividend. That's better than the annualized TSR of 56% over the last three years. Given the track record of solid returns over varying time frames, it might be worth putting Over the Wire Holdings on your watchlist. If you would like to research Over the Wire Holdings in more detail then you might want to take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in the company.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this freelist of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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.