Yahoo Finance Investors Who Bought Westlake Chemical (NYSE:WLK) Shares A Year Ago Are Now Down 25%
Passive investing in an index fund is a good way to ensure your own returns roughly match the overall market. Active investors aim to buy stocks that vastly outperform the market - but in the process, they risk under-performance. Unfortunately the Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK) share price slid 25% over twelve months. That falls noticeably short of the market return of around 1.7%. On the other hand, the stock is actually up 11% over three years. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 13% in the last 90 days.
View our latest analysis for Westlake Chemical
In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.
Unhappily, Westlake Chemical had to report a 60% decline in EPS over the last year. The share price fall of 25% isn't as bad as the reduction in earnings per share. It may have been that the weak EPS was not as bad as some had feared.
The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).
Dive deeper into Westlake Chemical's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Westlake Chemical's earnings, revenue and cash flow.
What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?
We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Westlake Chemical's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price return. Arguably the TSR is a more complete return calculation because it accounts for the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested), along with the hypothetical value of any discounted capital that have been offered to shareholders. Westlake Chemical's TSR of was a loss of 24% for the year. That wasn't as bad as its share price return, because it has paid dividends.
A Different Perspective
While the broader market gained around 1.7% in the last year, Westlake Chemical shareholders lost 24% (even including dividends) . However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 4.0% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. Most investors take the time to check the data on insider transactions. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.
If you are like me, then you will 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 US exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
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. Thank you for reading.
