Shareholders Of Ryman Hospitality Properties (NYSE:RHP) Must Be Happy With Their 73% Return

When you buy and hold a stock for the long term, you definitely want it to provide a positive return. But more than that, you probably want to see it rise more than the market average. But Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (NYSE:RHP) has fallen short of that second goal, with a share price rise of 38% over five years, which is below the market return. Unfortunately the share price is down 27% in the last year.

View our latest analysis for Ryman Hospitality Properties

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. 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.

Ryman Hospitality Properties' earnings per share are down 15% per year, despite strong share price performance over five years.

Essentially, it doesn't seem likely that investors are focused on EPS. Since the change in EPS doesn't seem to correlate with the change in share price, it's worth taking a look at other metrics.

On the other hand, Ryman Hospitality Properties' revenue is growing nicely, at a compound rate of 4.3% over the last five years. In that case, the company may be sacrificing current earnings per share to drive growth.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. You can see what analysts are predicting for Ryman Hospitality Properties in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

Investors should note that there's a difference between Ryman Hospitality Properties' total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price change, which we've covered above. Arguably the TSR is a more complete return calculation because it accounts for the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested), along with the hypothetical value of any discounted capital that have been offered to shareholders. Ryman Hospitality Properties' TSR of 73% for the 5 years exceeded its share price return, because it has paid dividends.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 27% in the last year, Ryman Hospitality Properties shareholders lost 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 12% 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. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Even so, be aware that Ryman Hospitality Properties is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is concerning...

Ryman Hospitality Properties is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

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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