Yahoo Finance Investors in Amerigo Resources (TSE:ARG) have made a impressive return of 177% over the past five years
Amerigo Resources Ltd. (TSE:ARG) shareholders have seen the share price descend 10% over the month. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last five years have been very strong. It's fair to say most would be happy with 168% the gain in that time. We think it's more important to dwell on the long term returns than the short term returns. Only time will tell if there is still too much optimism currently reflected in the share price.
So let's investigate and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.
View our latest analysis for Amerigo Resources
While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.
During the five years of share price growth, Amerigo Resources moved from a loss to profitability. Sometimes, the start of profitability is a major inflection point that can signal fast earnings growth to come, which in turn justifies very strong share price gains. Since the company was unprofitable five years ago, but not three years ago, it's worth taking a look at the returns in the last three years, too. Indeed, the Amerigo Resources share price has gained 123% in three years. Meanwhile, EPS is up 80% per year. This EPS growth is higher than the 31% average annual increase in the share price over the same three years. So you might conclude the market is a little more cautious about the stock, these days. This unenthusiastic sentiment is reflected in the stock's reasonably modest P/E ratio of 4.74.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
It is of course excellent to see how Amerigo Resources has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.
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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Amerigo Resources, it has a TSR of 177% 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
Amerigo Resources shareholders have received returns of 7.5% over twelve months (even including dividends), which isn't far from the general market return. It has to be noted that the recent return falls short of the 23% shareholders have gained each year, over half a decade. More recently, the share price growth has slowed. But it has to be said the overall picture is one of good long term and short term performance. Arguably that makes Amerigo Resources a stock worth watching. 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. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Amerigo Resources (of which 1 shouldn't be ignored!) you should know about.
We will like Amerigo Resources better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider 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.
