Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de (BMV:OMAB) shareholders have earned a 19% CAGR over the last three years

By buying an index fund, you can roughly match the market return with ease. But many of us dare to dream of bigger returns, and build a portfolio ourselves. Just take a look at Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV:OMAB), which is up 31%, over three years, soundly beating the market return of 4.5% (not including dividends). On the other hand, the returns haven't been quite so good recently, with shareholders up just 14%, including dividends.

Let's take a look at the underlying fundamentals over the longer term, and see if they've been consistent with shareholders returns.

View our latest analysis for Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de

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 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.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de was able to grow its EPS at 56% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. The average annual share price increase of 9% is actually lower than the EPS growth. Therefore, it seems the market has moderated its expectations for growth, somewhat.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

We know that Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? If you are thinking of buying or selling Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. 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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de, it has a TSR of 67% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 14% over the last year. That's including the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 11% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. 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 Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte. de that you should be aware of.

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