Yahoo Finance Introducing Investar Holding (NASDAQ:ISTR), A Stock That Climbed 49% In The Last Three Years
Want to participate in a research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $60 gift card!
One simple way to benefit from the stock market is to buy an index fund. But if you buy good businesses at attractive prices, your portfolio returns could exceed the average market return. For example, Investar Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ISTR) shareholders have seen the share price rise 49% over three years, well in excess of the market return (40%, not including dividends).
See our latest analysis for Investar Holding
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 three years of share price growth, Investar Holding achieved compound earnings per share growth of 13% per year. We note that the 14% yearly (average) share price gain isn't too far from the EPS growth rate. Coincidence? Probably not. That suggests that the market sentiment around the company hasn't changed much over that time. Au contraire, the share price change has arguably mimicked the EPS growth.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
It's good to see that there was some significant insider buying in the last three months. That's a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. This free interactive report on Investar Holding's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
A Different Perspective
The last twelve months weren't great for Investar Holding shares, which cost holders 13%, including dividends, while the market was up about 10%. Of course the long term matters more than the short term, and even great stocks will sometimes have a poor year. Fortunately the longer term story is brighter, with total returns averaging about 15% per year over three years. Sometimes when a good quality long term winner has a weak period, it's turns out to be an opportunity, but you really need to be sure that the quality is there. It is all well and good that insiders have been buying shares, but we suggest you check here to see what price insiders were buying at.
Investar Holding is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
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.
