P.C.B. Technologies (TLV:PCBT) shareholders are up 23% this past week, but still in the red over the last five years

This week we saw the P.C.B. Technologies Ltd (TLV:PCBT) share price climb by 23%. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last five years have been less than pleasing. You would have done a lot better buying an index fund, since the stock has dropped 46% in that half decade.

While the stock has risen 23% in the past week but long term shareholders are still in the red, let's see what the fundamentals can tell us.

Check out our latest analysis for P.C.B. Technologies

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 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).

In the last half decade P.C.B. Technologies saw its share price fall as its EPS declined below zero. Since the company has fallen to a loss making position, it's hard to compare the change in EPS with the share price change. But we would generally expect a lower price, given the situation.

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

Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between P.C.B. Technologies' 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. P.C.B. Technologies' TSR of was a loss of 37% for the 5 years. That wasn't as bad as its share price return, because it has paid dividends.

A Different Perspective

While it's never nice to take a loss, P.C.B. Technologies shareholders can take comfort that their trailing twelve month loss of 3.4% wasn't as bad as the market loss of around 13%. Of far more concern is the 6% p.a. loss served to shareholders over the last five years. While the losses are slowing we doubt many shareholders are happy with the stock. 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 P.C.B. Technologies (including 2 which can't be ignored) .

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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.