Would Shareholders Who Purchased AXIS Capital Holdings' (NYSE:AXS) Stock Year Be Happy With The Share price Today?

Investors can approximate the average market return by buying 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 AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS) shareholders over the last year, as the share price declined 29%. That contrasts poorly with the market return of 25%. However, the longer term returns haven't been so bad, with the stock down 8.5% in the last three years. More recently, the share price has dropped a further 8.2% in a month. This could be related to the recent financial results - you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report.

View our latest analysis for AXIS Capital Holdings

AXIS Capital Holdings wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

In just one year AXIS Capital Holdings saw its revenue fall by 6.4%. That's not what investors generally want to see. The stock price has languished lately, falling 29% in a year. What would you expect when revenue is falling, and it doesn't make a profit? We think most holders must believe revenue growth will improve, or else costs will decline.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have 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. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think AXIS Capital Holdings will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).

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. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, AXIS Capital Holdings' TSR for the last year was -26%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

AXIS Capital Holdings shareholders are down 26% for the year (even including dividends), but the market itself is up 25%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 0.2% 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. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with AXIS Capital Holdings .

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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