If You Had Bought Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) (NASDAQ:NFBK) Shares A Year Ago You'd Have Earned 71% Returns
The simplest way to invest in stocks is to buy exchange traded funds. But one can do better than that by picking better than average stocks (as part of a diversified portfolio). To wit, the Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) (NASDAQ:NFBK) share price is 71% higher than it was a year ago, much better than the market return of around 34% (not including dividends) in the same period. So that should have shareholders smiling. Having said that, the longer term returns aren't so impressive, with stock gaining just 0.4% in three years.
See our latest analysis for Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY)
To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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).
Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) was able to grow EPS by 46% in the last twelve months. This EPS growth is significantly lower than the 71% increase in the share price. This indicates that the market is now more optimistic about the stock.
The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY)'s earnings, revenue and cash flow.
What About Dividends?
It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. 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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY), it has a TSR of 78% for the last year. 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
It's good to see that Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 78% in the last twelve months. And that does include the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 4% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) (at least 1 which shouldn't be ignored) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) 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.
Simply Wall St has no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article 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.
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