Investors Who Bought Melcor Developments (TSE:MRD) Shares Five Years Ago Are Now Down 50%
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The main aim of stock picking is to find the market-beating stocks. But even the best stock picker will only win with some selections. So we wouldn't blame long term Melcor Developments Ltd. (TSE:MRD) shareholders for doubting their decision to hold, with the stock down 50% over a half decade. There was little comfort for shareholders in the last week as the price declined a further 1.2%.
See our latest analysis for Melcor Developments
To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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.
Looking back five years, both Melcor Developments's share price and EPS declined; the latter at a rate of 12% per year. In this case, the EPS change is really very close to the share price drop of 13% a year. This suggests that market participants have not changed their view of the company all that much. Rather, the share price change has reflected changes in earnings per share.
You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).
Dive deeper into Melcor Developments's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Melcor Developments's earnings, revenue and cash flow.
What About Dividends?
As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of Melcor Developments, it has a TSR of -41% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!
A Different Perspective
Melcor Developments shareholders are down 6.4% for the year (even including dividends), but the market itself is up 0.5%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, longer term shareholders are suffering worse, given the loss of 10% doled out over the last five years. We'd need to see some sustained improvements in the key metrics before we could muster much enthusiasm. Before spending more time on Melcor Developments it might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.
If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on CA 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.
