BE Semiconductor Industries' (AMS:BESI) investors will be pleased with their enviable 666% return over the last five years

We think all investors should try to buy and hold high quality multi-year winners. And we've seen some truly amazing gains over the years. To wit, the BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. (AMS:BESI) share price has soared 549% over five years. If that doesn't get you thinking about long term investing, we don't know what will. In more good news, the share price has risen 16% in thirty days. It really delights us to see such great share price performance for investors.

So let's assess the underlying fundamentals over the last 5 years and see if they've moved in lock-step with shareholder returns.

See our latest analysis for BE Semiconductor Industries

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 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.

During five years of share price growth, BE Semiconductor Industries achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 9.4% per year. This EPS growth is slower than the share price growth of 45% per year, over the same period. So it's fair to assume the market has a higher opinion of the business than it did five years ago. That's not necessarily surprising considering the five-year track record of earnings growth. This favorable sentiment is reflected in its (fairly optimistic) P/E ratio of 68.13.

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

Dive deeper into BE Semiconductor Industries' key metrics by checking this interactive graph of BE Semiconductor Industries's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for BE Semiconductor Industries the TSR over the last 5 years was 666%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that BE Semiconductor Industries has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 60% in the last twelve months. That's including the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 50% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. Before spending more time on BE Semiconductor Industries it might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.

But note: BE Semiconductor Industries may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com