Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Share Prices Have Dropped 36% In The Last Year

The simplest way to benefit from a rising market is to buy an index fund. Active investors aim to buy stocks that vastly outperform the market - but in the process, they risk under-performance. For example, the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE) share price is down 36% in the last year. That contrasts poorly with the market return of 19%. Longer term shareholders haven't suffered as badly, since the stock is down a comparatively less painful 27% in three years. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 10% in the last three months. We note that the company has reported results fairly recently; and the market is hardly delighted. You can check out the latest numbers in our company report.

See our latest analysis for Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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

Hewlett Packard Enterprise managed to increase earnings per share from a loss to a profit, over the last 12 months.

When a company has just transitioned to profitability, earnings per share growth is not always the best way to look at the share price action. But we may find different metrics more enlightening.

We don't see any weakness in the Hewlett Packard Enterprise's dividend so the steady payout can't really explain the share price drop. In fact, it seems more likely that the revenue fall of 9.6% in the last year is the worry. The market may be extrapolating the decline, leading to questions around the sustainability of the EPS.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is well known by investors, and plenty of clever analysts have tried to predict the future profit levels. If you are thinking of buying or selling Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst consensus estimates for future profits.

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

Investors should note that there's a difference between Hewlett Packard Enterprise's 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. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's TSR of was a loss of 35% for the year. That wasn't as bad as its share price return, because it has paid dividends.

A Different Perspective

The last twelve months weren't great for Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares, which cost holders 35%, including dividends, while the market was up about 19%. Of course the long term matters more than the short term, and even great stocks will sometimes have a poor year. Shareholders have lost 6.5% per year over the last three years, so the share price drop has become steeper, over the last year; a potential symptom of as yet unsolved challenges. We would be wary of buying into a company with unsolved problems, although some investors will buy into struggling stocks if they believe the price is sufficiently attractive. 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 Hewlett Packard Enterprise is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is potentially serious...

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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