Reflecting on Bank of South Carolina's (NASDAQ:BKSC) Share Price Returns Over The Last Year

The simplest way to benefit from a rising market is to buy an index fund. When you buy individual stocks, you can make higher profits, but you also face the risk of under-performance. That downside risk was realized by Bank of South Carolina Corporation (NASDAQ:BKSC) shareholders over the last year, as the share price declined 13%. That's well below the market return of 23%. Longer term shareholders haven't suffered as badly, since the stock is down a comparatively less painful 5.8% in three years.

Check out our latest analysis for Bank of South Carolina

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.

Unfortunately Bank of South Carolina reported an EPS drop of 12% for the last year. We note that the 13% share price drop is very close to the EPS drop. So it seems that the market sentiment has not changed much, despite the weak results. Instead, the change in the share price seems to reduction in earnings per share, alone.

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

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. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Bank of South Carolina'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. We note that for Bank of South Carolina the TSR over the last year was -9.5%, 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

While the broader market gained around 23% in the last year, Bank of South Carolina shareholders lost 9.5% (even including dividends). However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 5%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Bank of South Carolina better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Bank of South Carolina you should be aware of.

Bank of South Carolina 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 US 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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