Can You Imagine How NewMarket's (NYSE:NEU) Shareholders Feel About The 14% Share Price Increase?
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 NewMarket Corporation (NYSE:NEU) has fallen short of that second goal, with a share price rise of 14% over five years, which is below the market return. Zooming in, the stock is up a respectable 6.3% in the last year.
Check out our latest analysis for NewMarket
There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. 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).
Over half a decade, NewMarket managed to grow its earnings per share at 2.2% a year. This EPS growth is reasonably close to the 2.7% average annual increase in the share price. This indicates that investor sentiment towards the company has not changed a great deal. In fact, the share price seems to largely reflect the EPS growth.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on NewMarket's earnings, revenue and cash flow.
What About Dividends?
When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for NewMarket the TSR over the last 5 years was 23%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!
A Different Perspective
NewMarket provided a TSR of 8.2% over the last twelve months. 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 4.3% over half a decade It is possible that returns will improve along with the business fundamentals. Before spending more time on NewMarket it might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will 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.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
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. Thank you for reading.
