Aroundtown (ETR:AT1 investor five-year losses grow to 57% as the stock sheds €195m this past week

While not a mind-blowing move, it is good to see that the Aroundtown SA (ETR:AT1) share price has gained 12% in the last three months. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last half decade have been disappointing. In that time the share price has delivered a rude shock to holders, who find themselves down 62% after a long stretch. So is the recent increase sufficient to restore confidence in the stock? Not yet. However, in the best case scenario (far from fait accompli), this improved performance might be sustained.

After losing 5.6% this past week, it's worth investigating the company's fundamentals to see what we can infer from past performance.

See our latest analysis for Aroundtown

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' 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.

Aroundtown has made a profit in the past. However, it made a loss in the last twelve months, suggesting profit may be an unreliable metric at this stage. Other metrics may better explain the share price move.

Revenue is actually up 4.6% over the time period. A more detailed examination of the revenue and earnings may or may not explain why the share price languishes; there could be an opportunity.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

Aroundtown is well known by investors, and plenty of clever analysts have tried to predict the future profit levels. Given we have quite a good number of analyst forecasts, it might be well worth checking out this free chart depicting consensus estimates.

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Aroundtown's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price return. Arguably the TSR is a more complete return calculation because it accounts for the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested), along with the hypothetical value of any discounted capital that have been offered to shareholders. Dividends have been really beneficial for Aroundtown shareholders, and that cash payout explains why its total shareholder loss of 57%, over the last 5 years, isn't as bad as the share price return.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Aroundtown shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 22% over one year. That certainly beats the loss of about 9% per year over the last half decade. This makes us a little wary, but the business might have turned around its fortunes. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Aroundtown that you should be aware of.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: many of them are unnoticed AND have attractive valuation).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on German exchanges.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.