Yahoo Finance Did Auto Trader Group's (LON:AUTO) Share Price Deserve to Gain 42%?
By buying an index fund, you can roughly match the market return with ease. But if you buy good businesses at attractive prices, your portfolio returns could exceed the average market return. For example, the Auto Trader Group plc (LON:AUTO) share price is up 42% in the last three years, clearly besting the market return of around 6.4% (not including dividends). On the other hand, the returns haven't been quite so good recently, with shareholders up just 33% , including dividends .
Check out our latest analysis for Auto Trader Group
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 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).
Auto Trader Group was able to grow its EPS at 16% per year over three years, sending the share price higher. The average annual share price increase of 12% is actually lower than the EPS growth. So one could reasonably conclude that the market has cooled on the stock.
The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).
We know that Auto Trader Group 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?
When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. 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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Auto Trader Group, it has a TSR of 48% for the last 3 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
It's nice to see that Auto Trader Group shareholders have gained 33% (in total) over the last year. That's including the dividend. That gain actually surpasses the 14% TSR it generated (per year) over three years. The improving returns to shareholders suggests the stock is becoming more popular with time. 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.
But note: Auto Trader Group may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on GB exchanges.
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.
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. Thank you for reading.
