Can You Imagine How Bank of Hawaii's (NYSE:BOH) Shareholders Feel About The 61% Share Price Increase?

A diverse portfolio of stocks will always have winners and losers. But if you're going to beat the market overall, you need to have individual stocks that outperform. Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE:BOH) has done well over the last year, with the stock price up 61% beating the market return of 57% (not including dividends). Having said that, the longer term returns aren't so impressive, with stock gaining just 9.8% in three years.

View our latest analysis for Bank of Hawaii

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 flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During the last year, Bank of Hawaii actually saw its earnings per share drop 31%.

Given the share price gain, we doubt the market is measuring progress with EPS. Indeed, when EPS is declining but the share price is up, it often means the market is considering other factors.

Bank of Hawaii's revenue actually dropped 15% over last year. So using a snapshot of key business metrics doesn't give us a good picture of why the market is bidding up the stock.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think Bank of Hawaii will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).

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 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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for Bank of Hawaii the TSR over the last year was 68%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Bank of Hawaii shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 68% over the last year. That's including the dividend. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 9%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Bank of Hawaii better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Bank of Hawaii you should know about.

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 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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