The Shaanxi Northwest New Technology Industry (HKG:8258) Share Price Is Down 66% So Some Shareholders Are Wishing They Sold

Investing in stocks inevitably means buying into some companies that perform poorly. Long term Shaanxi Northwest New Technology Industry Company Limited (HKG:8258) shareholders know that all too well, since the share price is down considerably over three years. Unfortunately, they have held through a 66% decline in the share price in that time. And over the last year the share price fell 37%, so we doubt many shareholders are delighted. It's up 4.4% in the last seven days.

Check out our latest analysis for Shaanxi Northwest New Technology Industry

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).

Although the share price is down over three years, Shaanxi Northwest New Technology Industry actually managed to grow EPS by 70% per year in that time. This is quite a puzzle, and suggests there might be something temporarily buoying the share price. Alternatively, growth expectations may have been unreasonable in the past.

Since the change in EPS doesn't seem to correlate with the change in share price, it's worth taking a look at other metrics.

Revenue is actually up 9.5% over the three years, so the share price drop doesn't seem to hinge on revenue, either. This analysis is just perfunctory, but it might be worth researching Shaanxi Northwest New Technology Industry more closely, as sometimes stocks fall unfairly. This could present an opportunity.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

SEHK:8258 Income Statement, January 25th 2020
SEHK:8258 Income Statement, January 25th 2020

It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here..

A Different Perspective

Shaanxi Northwest New Technology Industry shareholders are down 37% for the year, but the market itself is up 4.7%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 14% per year over five years. We realise that Buffett has said investors should 'buy when there is blood on the streets', but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Shaanxi Northwest New Technology Industry better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Shaanxi Northwest New Technology Industry that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on HK exchanges.

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.

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