How Much Did Stratus Properties'(NASDAQ:STRS) Shareholders Earn From Share Price Movements Over The Last Three Years?

In order to justify the effort of selecting individual stocks, it's worth striving to beat the returns from a market index fund. But its virtually certain that sometimes you will buy stocks that fall short of the market average returns. We regret to report that long term Stratus Properties Inc. (NASDAQ:STRS) shareholders have had that experience, with the share price dropping 30% in three years, versus a market return of about 33%. And more recent buyers are having a tough time too, with a drop of 25% in the last year. Unhappily, the share price slid 3.2% in the last week.

Check out our latest analysis for Stratus Properties

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 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 five years of share price growth, Stratus Properties moved from a loss to profitability. We would usually expect to see the share price rise as a result. So given the share price is down it's worth checking some other metrics too.

We think that the revenue decline over three years, at a rate of 34% per year, probably had some shareholders looking to sell. After all, if revenue keeps shrinking, it may be difficult to find earnings growth in the future.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

This free interactive report on Stratus Properties' balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

Stratus Properties shareholders are down 25% for the year, but the market itself is up 12%. 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 5% per year over half a decade. 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 Stratus Properties better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Stratus Properties (including 2 which is shouldn't be ignored) .

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

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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