Crawford (NYSE:CRD.B) shareholders have earned a 36% return over the last year
A diverse portfolio of stocks will always have winners and losers. Of course, in an ideal world, all your stocks would beat the market. One such company is Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.B), which saw its share price increase 33% in the last year, slightly above the market return of around 31% (not including dividends). Having said that, the longer term returns aren't so impressive, with stock gaining just 13% in three years.
So let's investigate and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.
View our latest analysis for Crawford
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 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).
Crawford went from making a loss to reporting a profit, in the last year.
When a company is just on the edge of profitability it can be well worth considering other metrics in order to more precisely gauge growth (and therefore understand share price movements).
We are skeptical of the suggestion that the 1.7% dividend yield would entice buyers to the stock. We think that the revenue growth of 5.9% could have some investors interested. Many businesses do go through a phase where they have to forgo some profits to drive business development, and sometimes its for the best.
The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).
We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts
What About Dividends?
As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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. As it happens, Crawford's TSR for the last 1 year was 36%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!
A Different Perspective
It's good to see that Crawford has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 36% in the last twelve months. And that does include the dividend. There's no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 0.3% 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 Crawford better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Crawford you should be aware of.
Crawford 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 US exchanges.
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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
