While it may not be enough for some shareholders, we think it is good to see the Riverstone Holdings Limited (SGX:AP4) share price up 18% in a single quarter. But if you look at the last five years the returns have not been good. You would have done a lot better buying an index fund, since the stock has dropped 56% in that half decade.
So let’s have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business’ progress.
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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).
During the unfortunate half decade during which the share price slipped, Riverstone Holdings actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) improve by 3.5% per year. Given the share price reaction, one might suspect that EPS is not a good guide to the business performance during the period (perhaps due to a one-off loss or gain). Or possibly, the market was previously very optimistic, so the stock has disappointed, despite improving EPS.
By glancing at these numbers, we’d posit that the the market had expectations of much higher growth, five years ago. Having said that, we might get a better idea of what’s going on with the stock by looking at other metrics.
We note that the dividend has remained healthy, so that wouldn’t really explain the share price drop. However, revenue has declined at a compound annual rate of 20% per year. With dividends up, but revenue down, some investors might be concluding that the company is no longer growing.
You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts
As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. It’s fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for Riverstone Holdings the TSR over the last 5 years was -22%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.