How Much Did National Express Group's(LON:NEX) Shareholders Earn From Share Price Movements Over The Last Year?

It is doubtless a positive to see that the National Express Group PLC (LON:NEX) share price has gained some 44% in the last three months. But that's not enough to compensate for the decline over the last twelve months. Like an arid lake in a warming world, shareholder value has evaporated, with the share price down 51% in that time. Some might say the recent bounce is to be expected after such a bad drop. Arguably, the fall was overdone.

See our latest analysis for National Express Group

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 way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

National Express Group fell to a loss making position during the year. Some investors no doubt dumped the stock as a result. However, there may be an opportunity for investors if the company can recover.

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. This free interactive report on National Express Group's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 5.5% in the twelve months, National Express Group shareholders did even worse, losing 51%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 3% 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. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with National Express Group (including 1 which is significant) .

National Express Group is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider 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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