Yahoo Finance Investing in U.S. Silica Holdings (NYSE:SLCA) three years ago would have delivered you a 158% gain
While U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SLCA) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 16% in the last quarter. In contrast, the return over three years has been impressive. Indeed, the share price is up a very strong 152% in that time. To some, the recent share price pullback wouldn't be surprising after such a good run. The thing to consider is whether the underlying business is doing well enough to support the current price.
Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.
View our latest analysis for U.S. Silica Holdings
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 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.
U.S. Silica Holdings became profitable within the last three years. That kind of transition can be an inflection point that justifies a strong share price gain, just as we have seen here.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
We know that U.S. Silica Holdings has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? Take a more thorough look at U.S. Silica Holdings' financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.
What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?
We've already covered U.S. Silica Holdings' share price action, but we should also mention its total shareholder return (TSR). 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. U.S. Silica Holdings' TSR of 158% for the 3 years exceeded its share price return, because it has paid dividends.
A Different Perspective
It's nice to see that U.S. Silica Holdings shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 24% over the last year. There's no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 10% per year over five years. This makes us a little wary, but the business might have turned around its fortunes. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand U.S. Silica Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for U.S. Silica Holdings (1 is significant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
But note: U.S. Silica Holdings 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 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.
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