Yahoo Finance Cogent Communications Holdings (NASDAQ:CCOI) sheds 6.0% this week, as yearly returns fall more in line with earnings growth
The main point of investing for the long term is to make money. Furthermore, you'd generally like to see the share price rise faster than the market. But Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCOI) has fallen short of that second goal, with a share price rise of 49% over five years, which is below the market return. The last year has been disappointing, with the stock price down 15% in that time.
While this past week has detracted from the company's five-year return, let's look at the recent trends of the underlying business and see if the gains have been in alignment.
View our latest analysis for Cogent Communications Holdings
To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' 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.
Over half a decade, Cogent Communications Holdings managed to grow its earnings per share at 25% a year. This EPS growth is higher than the 8% average annual increase in the share price. Therefore, it seems the market has become relatively pessimistic about the company. Of course, with a P/E ratio of 59.69, the market remains optimistic.
You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).
We know that Cogent Communications Holdings has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? If you're interested, you could check this free report showing consensus revenue forecasts.
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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. As it happens, Cogent Communications Holdings' TSR for the last 5 years was 86%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.
A Different Perspective
While the broader market lost about 5.1% in the twelve months, Cogent Communications Holdings shareholders did even worse, losing 11% (even including dividends). However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 13%, each year, over five years. 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 Cogent Communications Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Cogent Communications Holdings you should be aware of, and 3 of them are a bit concerning.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US 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.
