If You Had Bought OCK Group Berhad's (KLSE:OCK) Shares Three Years Ago You Would Be Down 46%

OCK Group Berhad (KLSE:OCK) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 19% in the last month. But that doesn't help the fact that the three year return is less impressive. Truth be told the share price declined 46% in three years and that return, Dear Reader, falls short of what you could have got from passive investing with an index fund.

See our latest analysis for OCK Group Berhad

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 the three years that the share price fell, OCK Group Berhad's earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 5.7% each year. The share price decline of 18% is actually steeper than the EPS slippage. So it's likely that the EPS decline has disappointed the market, leaving investors hesitant to buy.

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

It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on OCK Group Berhad's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

Investors in OCK Group Berhad had a tough year, with a total loss of 20%, against a market gain of about 8.2%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 6% per year over five years. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for OCK Group Berhad you should know about.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

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