Yahoo Finance Here's Why International Petroleum (TSE:IPCO) Has Caught The Eye Of Investors
The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, so investors in these companies may be taking on more risk than they should.
Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like International Petroleum (TSE:IPCO). While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.
See our latest analysis for International Petroleum
How Quickly Is International Petroleum Increasing Earnings Per Share?
The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so you'd expect share price to follow earnings per share (EPS) outcomes eventually. So it makes sense that experienced investors pay close attention to company EPS when undertaking investment research. International Petroleum's shareholders have have plenty to be happy about as their annual EPS growth for the last 3 years was 58%. Growth that fast may well be fleeting, but it should be more than enough to pique the interest of the wary stock pickers.
One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. International Petroleum shareholders can take confidence from the fact that EBIT margins are up from 8.3% to 44%, and revenue is growing. Ticking those two boxes is a good sign of growth, in our book.
In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.
The trick, as an investor, is to find companies that are going to perform well in the future, not just in the past. While crystal balls don't exist, you can check our visualization of consensus analyst forecasts for International Petroleum's future EPS 100% free.
Are International Petroleum Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
It should give investors a sense of security owning shares in a company if insiders also own shares, creating a close alignment their interests. So it is good to see that International Petroleum insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. To be specific, they have US$54m worth of shares. This considerable investment should help drive long-term value in the business. Despite being just 2.7% of the company, the value of that investment is enough to show insiders have plenty riding on the venture.
Is International Petroleum Worth Keeping An Eye On?
International Petroleum's earnings per share growth have been climbing higher at an appreciable rate. That sort of growth is nothing short of eye-catching, and the large investment held by insiders should certainly brighten the view of the company. The hope is, of course, that the strong growth marks a fundamental improvement in the business economics. Based on the sum of its parts, we definitely think its worth watching International Petroleum very closely. Before you take the next step you should know about the 1 warning sign for International Petroleum that we have uncovered.
There's always the possibility of doing well buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But for those who consider these important metrics, we encourage you to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a free list of them here.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.
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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.
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