Do Apogee Enterprises' (NASDAQ:APOG) Earnings Warrant Your Attention?

It's common for many investors, especially those who are inexperienced, to buy shares in companies with a good story even if these companies are loss-making. Sometimes these stories can cloud the minds of investors, leading them to invest with their emotions rather than on the merit of good company fundamentals. Loss making companies can act like a sponge for capital - so investors should be cautious that they're not throwing good money after bad.

In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like Apogee Enterprises (NASDAQ:APOG), which has not only revenues, but also profits. Now this is not to say that the company presents the best investment opportunity around, but profitability is a key component to success in business.

See our latest analysis for Apogee Enterprises

How Fast Is Apogee Enterprises Growing?

Generally, companies experiencing growth in earnings per share (EPS) should see similar trends in share price. That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. It certainly is nice to see that Apogee Enterprises has managed to grow EPS by 36% per year over three years. If the company can sustain that sort of growth, we'd expect shareholders to come away satisfied.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. Apogee Enterprises maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 2.7% to US$1.4b. That's a real positive.

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.

Of course the knack is to find stocks that have their best days in the future, not in the past. You could base your opinion on past performance, of course, but you may also want to check this interactive graph of professional analyst EPS forecasts for Apogee Enterprises.

Are Apogee Enterprises Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It should give investors a sense of security owning shares in a company if insiders also own shares, creating a close alignment their interests. Shareholders will be pleased by the fact that insiders own Apogee Enterprises shares worth a considerable sum. Indeed, they hold US$21m worth of its stock. This considerable investment should help drive long-term value in the business. Even though that's only about 2.2% of the company, it's enough money to indicate alignment between the leaders of the business and ordinary shareholders.

Is Apogee Enterprises Worth Keeping An Eye On?

If you believe that share price follows earnings per share you should definitely be delving further into Apogee Enterprises' strong EPS growth. This EPS growth rate is something the company should be proud of, and so it's no surprise that insiders are holding on to a considerable chunk of shares. Fast growth and confident insiders should be enough to warrant further research, so it would seem that it's a good stock to follow. Even so, be aware that Apogee Enterprises is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

The beauty of investing is that you can invest in almost any company you want. But if you prefer to focus on stocks that have demonstrated insider buying, here is a list of companies with insider buying in the last three months.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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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.