Aegean Airlines' (ATH:AEGN) investors will be pleased with their splendid 150% return over the last three years

The most you can lose on any stock (assuming you don't use leverage) is 100% of your money. But when you pick a company that is really flourishing, you can make more than 100%. To wit, the Aegean Airlines S.A. (ATH:AEGN) share price has flown 127% in the last three years. That sort of return is as solid as granite. In the last week the share price is up 2.9%.

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

See our latest analysis for Aegean Airlines

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. 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.

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We've already covered Aegean Airlines' share price action, but we should also mention its total shareholder return (TSR). 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 Aegean Airlines shareholders, and that cash payout contributed to why its TSR of 150%, over the last 3 years, is better than the share price return.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Aegean Airlines has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 75% in the last twelve months. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 14% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Aegean Airlines better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Aegean Airlines you should know about.

Aegean Airlines 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 Greek 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.