Investors Who Bought S&T (ETR:SANT) Shares Five Years Ago Are Now Up 564%
We think all investors should try to buy and hold high quality multi-year winners. And we've seen some truly amazing gains over the years. For example, the S&T AG (ETR:SANT) share price is up a whopping 564% in the last half decade, a handsome return for long term holders. If that doesn't get you thinking about long term investing, we don't know what will. Also pleasing for shareholders was the 21% gain in the last three months.
We love happy stories like this one. The company should be really proud of that performance!
View our latest analysis for S&T
There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.
During five years of share price growth, S&T achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 18% per year. This EPS growth is slower than the share price growth of 46% per year, over the same period. This suggests that market participants hold the company in higher regard, these days. That's not necessarily surprising considering the five-year track record of earnings growth.
You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).
We know that S&T has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? You could check out this free report showing analyst revenue forecasts.
What About Dividends?
It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, S&T's TSR for the last 5 years was 597%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.
A Different Perspective
S&T provided a TSR of 20% over the year (including dividends) . That's fairly close to the broader market return. We should note here that the five-year TSR is more impressive, at 47% per year. Although the share price growth has slowed, the longer term story points to a business well worth watching. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand S&T better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for S&T you should be aware of.
Of course S&T may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on DE 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.
