Athabasca Oil (TSE:ATH) increases 4.3% this week, taking three-year gains to 924%
Generally speaking, investors are inspired to be stock pickers by the potential to find the big winners. Not every pick can be a winner, but when you pick the right stock, you can win big. Take, for example, the Athabasca Oil Corporation (TSE:ATH) share price, which skyrocketed 924% over three years. Also pleasing for shareholders was the 13% gain in the last three months. We love happy stories like this one. The company should be really proud of that performance!
After a strong gain in the past week, it's worth seeing if longer term returns have been driven by improving fundamentals.
Check out our latest analysis for Athabasca Oil
To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. 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.
Athabasca Oil became profitable within the last three years. Given the importance of this milestone, it's not overly surprising that the share price has increased strongly.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Athabasca Oil's earnings, revenue and cash flow.
A Different Perspective
We're pleased to report that Athabasca Oil shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 49% over one year. That's better than the annualised return of 35% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Athabasca Oil better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Athabasca Oil that you should be aware of before investing here.
Athabasca Oil 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 Canadian 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.
