How Much Did Seaboard's(NYSEMKT:SEB) Shareholders Earn From Share Price Movements Over The Last Three Years?

While not a mind-blowing move, it is good to see that the Seaboard Corporation (NYSEMKT:SEB) share price has gained 23% in the last three months. But that doesn't help the fact that the three year return is less impressive. Truth be told the share price declined 26% in three years and that return, Dear Reader, falls short of what you could have got from passive investing with an index fund.

See our latest analysis for Seaboard

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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.

During the three years that the share price fell, Seaboard's earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 16% each year. This fall in the EPS is worse than the 9% 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.

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

Dive deeper into Seaboard's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Seaboard's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Seaboard had a tough year, with a total loss of 20% (including dividends), against a market gain of about 24%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 1.8% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Seaboard better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Seaboard is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

Of course Seaboard may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

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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