How Much Did Hugo Boss'(ETR:BOSS) Shareholders Earn From Share Price Movements Over The Last Three Years?

Hugo Boss AG (ETR:BOSS) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 21% in the last quarter. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last three years have been disappointing. Tragically, the share price declined 65% in that time. So it's good to see it climbing back up. Perhaps the company has turned over a new leaf.

View our latest analysis for Hugo Boss

In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. 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, Hugo Boss' earnings per share (EPS) dropped significantly, falling to a loss. 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 image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

Dive deeper into Hugo Boss' key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Hugo Boss'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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, Hugo Boss' TSR for the last 3 years was -62%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

Investors in Hugo Boss had a tough year, with a total loss of 39% (including dividends), against a market gain of about 5.6%. 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 9% per year over five years. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Hugo Boss that you should be aware of before investing here.

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 DE exchanges.

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