Can You Imagine How Jubilant Mr. Blue's (KOSDAQ:207760) Shareholders Feel About Its 222% Share Price Gain?

It might seem bad, but the worst that can happen when you buy a stock (without leverage) is that its share price goes to zero. But when you pick a company that is really flourishing, you can make more than 100%. For instance the Mr. Blue Corporation (KOSDAQ:207760) share price is 222% higher than it was three years ago. That sort of return is as solid as granite. Better yet, the share price has risen 5.3% in the last week.

View our latest analysis for Mr. Blue

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 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).

During three years of share price growth, Mr. Blue achieved compound earnings per share growth of 53% per year. We note that the 48% yearly (average) share price gain isn't too far from the EPS growth rate. Coincidence? Probably not. This suggests that sentiment and expectations have not changed drastically. Au contraire, the share price change has arguably mimicked the EPS growth.

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

It is of course excellent to see how Mr. Blue has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. This free interactive report on Mr. Blue's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of Mr. Blue, it has a TSR of 227% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

Mr. Blue shareholders are up 38% for the year (even including dividends). Unfortunately this falls short of the market return. The silver lining is that the gain was actually better than the average annual return of 24% per year over five year. This could indicate that the company is winning over new investors, as it pursues its strategy. Before forming an opinion on Mr. Blue you might want to consider these 3 valuation metrics.

We will like Mr. Blue better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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