Shareholders of North Media (CPH:NORTHM) Must Be Delighted With Their 966% Total Return

For many, the main point of investing in the stock market is to achieve spectacular returns. And we've seen some truly amazing gains over the years. Just think about the savvy investors who held North Media A/S (CPH:NORTHM) shares for the last five years, while they gained 756%. This just goes to show the value creation that some businesses can achieve. Also pleasing for shareholders was the 11% gain in the last three months.

It really delights us to see such great share price performance for investors.

See our latest analysis for North Media

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...' 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 the last half decade, North Media became profitable. That kind of transition can be an inflection point that justifies a strong share price gain, just as we have seen here. Given that the company made a profit three years ago, but not five years ago, it is worth looking at the share price returns over the last three years, too. Indeed, the North Media share price has gained 178% in three years. Meanwhile, EPS is up 122% per year. This EPS growth is higher than the 41% average annual increase in the share price over the same three years. So you might conclude the market is a little more cautious about the stock, these days. This unenthusiastic sentiment is reflected in the stock's reasonably modest P/E ratio of 6.75.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

It is of course excellent to see how North Media has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.

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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. As it happens, North Media's TSR for the last 5 years was 966%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that North Media shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 168% over one year. That's including the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 61% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. 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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with North Media (at least 2 which are concerning) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

We will like North Media 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 DK 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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