The past three years for Masraf Al Rayan (Q.P.S.C.) (DSM:MARK) investors has not been profitable

Masraf Al Rayan (Q.P.S.C.) (DSM:MARK) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 19% in the last month. But that cannot eclipse the less-than-impressive returns over the last three years. After all, the share price is down 44% in the last three years, significantly under-performing the market.

Now let's have a look at the company's fundamentals, and see if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

Check out our latest analysis for Masraf Al Rayan (Q.P.S.C.)

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 way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

Masraf Al Rayan (Q.P.S.C.) saw its EPS decline at a compound rate of 24% per year, over the last three years. This fall in the EPS is worse than the 17% compound annual share price fall. So the market may not be too worried about the EPS figure, at the moment -- or it may have previously priced some of the drop in.

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

Dive deeper into Masraf Al Rayan (Q.P.S.C.)'s key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Masraf Al Rayan (Q.P.S.C.)'s earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, Masraf Al Rayan (Q.P.S.C.)'s TSR for the last 3 years was -37%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that Masraf Al Rayan (Q.P.S.C.) shareholders are down 28% for the year (even including dividends). Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 13%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 5% 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 Masraf Al Rayan (Q.P.S.C.) better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Masraf Al Rayan (Q.P.S.C.) you should be aware of.

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