If You Had Bought Air New Zealand's (NZSE:AIR) Shares Three Years Ago You Would Be Down 61%

If you are building a properly diversified stock portfolio, the chances are some of your picks will perform badly. But the long term shareholders of Air New Zealand Limited (NZSE:AIR) have had an unfortunate run in the last three years. Regrettably, they have had to cope with a 61% drop in the share price over that period. And over the last year the share price fell 52%, so we doubt many shareholders are delighted. Even worse, it's down 18% in about a month, which isn't fun at all.

See our latest analysis for Air New Zealand

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect 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.

During the three years that the share price fell, Air New Zealand's earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 17% each year. This reduction in EPS is slower than the 27% annual reduction in the share price. So it's likely that the EPS decline has disappointed the market, leaving investors hesitant to buy. The less favorable sentiment is reflected in its current P/E ratio of 6.84.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Air New Zealand's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We've already covered Air New Zealand's share price action, but we should also mention its total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Air New Zealand's TSR of was a loss of 51% for the 3 years. That wasn't as bad as its share price return, because it has paid dividends.

A Different Perspective

Air New Zealand shareholders are down 49% for the year, but the market itself is up 5.3%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 2.7% per year over five years. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Air New Zealand better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Air New Zealand .

Air New Zealand is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

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