The last three months have been tough on Devsisters corporation (KOSDAQ:194480) shareholders, who have seen the share price decline a rather worrying 31%. But that scarcely detracts from the really solid long term returns generated by the company over five years. It's fair to say most would be happy with 113% the gain in that time. We think it's more important to dwell on the long term returns than the short term returns. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean it's cheap now. Unfortunately not all shareholders will have held it for five years, so spare a thought for those caught in the 41% decline over the last three years: that's a long time to wait for profits.
Since it's been a strong week for Devsisters shareholders, let's have a look at trend of the longer term fundamentals.
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...' 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 the last half decade, Devsisters became profitable. Sometimes, the start of profitability is a major inflection point that can signal fast earnings growth to come, which in turn justifies very strong share price gains.
The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).
We know that Devsisters has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? You could check out this free report showing analyst revenue forecasts.
Investors should note that there's a difference between Devsisters' total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price change, which we've covered above. 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. Dividends have been really beneficial for Devsisters shareholders, and that cash payout contributed to why its TSR of 116%, over the last 5 years, is better than the share price return.
Devsisters shareholders gained a total return of 13% during the year. Unfortunately this falls short of the market return. On the bright side, the longer term returns (running at about 17% a year, over half a decade) look better. Maybe the share price is just taking a breather while the business executes on its growth strategy. Is Devsisters cheap compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.
We will like Devsisters better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued stocks (mostly small caps) with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on South Korean 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.