Did You Participate In Any Of Totens Sparebank's (OB:TOTG) Fantastic 145% Return ?

Generally speaking the aim of active stock picking is to find companies that provide returns that are superior to the market average. Buying under-rated businesses is one path to excess returns. To wit, the Totens Sparebank share price has climbed 81% in five years, easily topping the market return of 51% (ignoring dividends). However, more recent returns haven't been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 7.1% in the last year , including dividends .

View our latest analysis for Totens Sparebank

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' 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 half a decade, Totens Sparebank managed to grow its earnings per share at 56% a year. This EPS growth is higher than the 13% average annual increase in the share price. So one could conclude that the broader market has become more cautious towards the stock. The reasonably low P/E ratio of 10.22 also suggests market apprehension.

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

Dive deeper into Totens Sparebank's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Totens Sparebank'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. 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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of Totens Sparebank, it has a TSR of 145% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Totens Sparebank has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 7.1% in the last twelve months. And that does include the dividend. However, that falls short of the 20% TSR per annum it has made for shareholders, each year, over five years. Potential buyers might understandably feel they've missed the opportunity, but it's always possible business is still firing on all cylinders. 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. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Totens Sparebank .

But note: Totens Sparebank 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 NO 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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