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Ashland Global Holdings (NYSE:ASH) Shareholders Received A Total Return Of 45% In The Last Three Years

For many investors, the main point of stock picking is to generate higher returns than the overall market. But if you try your hand at stock picking, your risk returning less than the market. Unfortunately, that's been the case for longer term Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ASH) shareholders, since the share price is down 32% in the last three years, falling well short of the market return of around 46%. There was little comfort for shareholders in the last week as the price declined a further 1.6%.

View our latest analysis for Ashland Global Holdings

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

Ashland Global Holdings became profitable within the last five years. We would usually expect to see the share price rise as a result. So it's worth looking at other metrics to try to understand the share price move.

The modest 1.4% dividend yield is unlikely to be guiding the market view of the stock. Revenue is actually up 7.0% over the three years, so the share price drop doesn't seem to hinge on revenue, either. This analysis is just perfunctory, but it might be worth researching Ashland Global Holdings more closely, as sometimes stocks fall unfairly. This could present an opportunity.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

NYSE:ASH Income Statement, October 23rd 2019
NYSE:ASH Income Statement, October 23rd 2019

Ashland Global Holdings is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. Given we have quite a good number of analyst forecasts, it might be well worth checking out this free chart depicting consensus estimates.

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 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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Ashland Global Holdings, it has a TSR of 45% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

Ashland Global Holdings shareholders gained a total return of 6.7% during the year. But that return falls short of the market. On the bright side, the longer term returns (running at about 9.4% 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 Ashland Global Holdings cheap compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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.

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