Qatar Insurance Company Q.S.P.C (DSM:QATI) sheds ر.ق291m, company earnings and investor returns have been trending downwards for past five years

Generally speaking long term investing is the way to go. But along the way some stocks are going to perform badly. For example the Qatar Insurance Company Q.S.P.C. (DSM:QATI) share price dropped 60% over five years. That is extremely sub-optimal, to say the least.

Given the past week has been tough on shareholders, let's investigate the fundamentals and see what we can learn.

View our latest analysis for Qatar Insurance Company Q.S.P.C

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

Qatar Insurance Company Q.S.P.C became profitable within the last five years. Most would consider that to be a good thing, so it's counter-intuitive to see the share price declining. Other metrics might give us a better handle on how its value is changing over time.

Revenue is actually up 0.4% over the time period. So it seems one might have to take closer look at the fundamentals to understand why the share price languishes. After all, there may be an opportunity.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

If you are thinking of buying or selling Qatar Insurance Company Q.S.P.C stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Qatar Insurance Company Q.S.P.C'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. Dividends have been really beneficial for Qatar Insurance Company Q.S.P.C shareholders, and that cash payout explains why its total shareholder loss of 54%, over the last 5 years, isn't as bad as the share price return.

A Different Perspective

Qatar Insurance Company Q.S.P.C provided a TSR of 5.2% over the last twelve months. But that was short of the market average. But at least that's still a gain! Over five years the TSR has been a reduction of 9% per year, over five years. So this might be a sign the business has turned its fortunes around. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Qatar Insurance Company Q.S.P.C better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Qatar Insurance Company Q.S.P.C (1 is a bit concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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