Can You Imagine How Casey's General Stores' (NASDAQ:CASY) Shareholders Feel About The 79% Share Price Increase?
Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 11% in the last quarter. But that shouldn't obscure the pleasing returns achieved by shareholders over the last three years. After all, the share price is up a market-beating 79% in that time.
View our latest analysis for Casey's General Stores
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...' One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).
During three years of share price growth, Casey's General Stores achieved compound earnings per share growth of 0.08% per year. This EPS growth is lower than the 21% average annual increase in the share price. This indicates that the market is feeling more optimistic on the stock, after the last few years of progress. It's not unusual to see the market 're-rate' a stock, after a few years of growth.
The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).
We know that Casey's General Stores has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? You could check out this free report showing analyst revenue forecasts.
What About Dividends?
When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of Casey's General Stores, it has a TSR of 83% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!
A Different Perspective
Casey's General Stores shareholders gained a total return of 25% during the year. But that was short of the market average. On the bright side, that's still a gain, and it's actually better than the average return of 9% over half a decade This could indicate that the company is winning over new investors, as it pursues its strategy. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Casey's General Stores better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Casey's General Stores you should be aware of.
Of course Casey's General Stores 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.
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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