Outfront Media (NYSE:OUT) Shareholders Booked A 21% Gain In The Last Year

These days it's easy to simply buy an index fund, and your returns should (roughly) match the market. But you can significantly boost your returns by picking above-average stocks. To wit, the Outfront Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT) share price is 21% higher than it was a year ago, much better than the market return of around 16% (not including dividends) in the same period. So that should have shareholders smiling. Unfortunately the longer term returns are not so good, with the stock falling 0.6% in the last three years.

See our latest analysis for Outfront Media

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

During the last year Outfront Media grew its earnings per share (EPS) by 76%. It's fair to say that the share price gain of 21% did not keep pace with the EPS growth. So it seems like the market has cooled on Outfront Media, despite the growth. Interesting.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

We know that Outfront Media has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? If you're interested, you could check this free report showing consensus revenue 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 incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, Outfront Media's TSR for the last year was 29%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Outfront Media shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 29% over the last year. That's including the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 4.2% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. Keeping this in mind, a solid next step might be to take a look at Outfront Media's dividend track record. This free interactive graph is a great place to start.

Of course Outfront Media 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.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

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