Reach (LON:RCH) Has Gifted Shareholders With A Fantastic 123% Total Return On Their Investment

Reach plc (LON:RCH) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 16% in the last month. But that shouldn't obscure the pleasing returns achieved by shareholders over the last three years. After all, the share price is up a market-beating 92% in that time.

Check out our latest analysis for Reach

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 flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

Over the last three years, Reach failed to grow earnings per share, which fell 13% (annualized).

Thus, it seems unlikely that the market is focussed on EPS growth at the moment. Therefore, we think it's worth considering other metrics as well.

We severely doubt anyone is particularly impressed with the modest 2.4% three-year revenue growth rate. While we don't have an obvious theory to explain the share price rise, a closer look at the data might be enlightening.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

We know that Reach has improved its bottom line lately, but what does the future have in store? You can see what analysts are predicting for Reach in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Reach'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. Its history of dividend payouts mean that Reach's TSR of 123% over the last 3 years is better than the share price return.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Reach has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 10% in the last twelve months. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 2%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Reach better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example - Reach has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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

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