Yahoo Finance Canadian Western Bank's (TSE:CWB) earnings growth rate lags the 7.1% CAGR delivered to shareholders
Canadian Western Bank (TSE:CWB) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 22% in the last quarter. But at least the stock is up over the last five years. Unfortunately its return of 18% is below the market return of 49%.
While the stock has fallen 5.0% this week, it's worth focusing on the longer term and seeing if the stocks historical returns have been driven by the underlying fundamentals.
See our latest analysis for Canadian Western Bank
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, Canadian Western Bank managed to grow its earnings per share at 13% a year. The EPS growth is more impressive than the yearly share price gain of 3% over the same period. So one could conclude that the broader market has become more cautious towards the stock. The reasonably low P/E ratio of 8.39 also suggests market apprehension.
The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).
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. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Canadian Western Bank'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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for Canadian Western Bank the TSR over the last 5 years was 41%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!
A Different Perspective
Investors in Canadian Western Bank had a tough year, with a total loss of 6.1% (including dividends), against a market gain of about 6.7%. 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. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 7% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Canadian Western Bank better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Canadian Western Bank is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those shouldn't be ignored...
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do 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.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.