Despite delivering investors losses of 9.7% over the past 3 years, Amir Marketing and Investments in Agriculture (TLV:AMRK) has been growing its earnings

Amir Marketing and Investments in Agriculture Ltd (TLV:AMRK) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 14% in the last week. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last three years have been less than pleasing. In fact, the share price is down 19% in the last three years, falling well short of the market return.

While the last three years has been tough for Amir Marketing and Investments in Agriculture shareholders, this past week has shown signs of promise. So let's look at the longer term fundamentals and see if they've been the driver of the negative returns.

See our latest analysis for Amir Marketing and Investments in Agriculture

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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.

During five years of share price growth, Amir Marketing and Investments in Agriculture moved from a loss to profitability. We would usually expect to see the share price rise as a result. So given the share price is down it's worth checking some other metrics too.

Revenue is actually up 5.3% over the three years, so the share price drop doesn't seem to hinge on revenue, either. This analysis is just perfunctory, but it might be worth researching Amir Marketing and Investments in Agriculture more closely, as sometimes stocks fall unfairly. This could present an opportunity.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

Take a more thorough look at Amir Marketing and Investments in Agriculture's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. 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, Amir Marketing and Investments in Agriculture's TSR for the last 3 years was -9.7%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Amir Marketing and Investments in Agriculture shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 14% over one year. Of course, that includes the dividend. There's no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 0.3% per year over five years. The long term loss makes us cautious, but the short term TSR gain certainly hints at a brighter future. 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. Even so, be aware that Amir Marketing and Investments in Agriculture is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those can't be ignored...

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of undervalued small caps 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 Israeli 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.