Sif Holding (AMS:SIFG shareholders incur further losses as stock declines 13% this week, taking three-year losses to 19%

As an investor its worth striving to ensure your overall portfolio beats the market average. But if you try your hand at stock picking, you risk returning less than the market. We regret to report that long term Sif Holding N.V. (AMS:SIFG) shareholders have had that experience, with the share price dropping 23% in three years, versus a market return of about 22%. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 18% in the last three months. This could be related to the recent financial results - you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report.

With the stock having lost 13% in the past week, it's worth taking a look at business performance and seeing if there's any red flags.

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While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. 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.

Over the three years that the share price declined, Sif Holding's earnings per share (EPS) dropped significantly, falling to a loss. Extraordinary items contributed to this situation. Since the company has fallen to a loss making position, it's hard to compare the change in EPS with the share price change. However, we can say we'd expect to see a falling share price in this scenario.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

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

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Sif Holding's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price return. The TSR attempts to capture the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested) as well as any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings offered to shareholders. Its history of dividend payouts mean that Sif Holding's TSR, which was a 19% drop over the last 3 years, was not as bad as the share price return.

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that Sif Holding shareholders are down 12% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 2.7%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 3%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Sif Holding better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Sif Holding .

Of course Sif Holding may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

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